


Dewdrops

by ChiaToma



Series: Lupine [1]
Category: Big Bang (Band), EXO (Band), Super Junior
Genre: Alpha Suho, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Kid Jongin, Kid Sehun, Kyungsoo best big brother ever, M/M, Male Omegas, Mentions of past abuse, More angst, Mpreg, Multi, OT12 (EXO), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Wolf AU, Wolf Pack, Yaoi, cute mush, heavy going fic, kid Tao, long fic, mentions of non-con elements, omega Yifan, slight butchery of popular musical, treatment for post traumatic stress disorder, very different from other wolf fic, wolf boy au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 111,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28671369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiaToma/pseuds/ChiaToma
Summary: At the age of just eight years old, a very terrible thing happened to Yifan.But Suho was there to save him and unknowingly the pair were joined as mates.Though Suho could not stay by Yifan's side forever, as his parents were moving away to the big city and he had to go with them. However he promised to keep in contact with Yifan every day until he returned and he kept that promise.Now graduated from university and with a position in a law firm in his home time, Suho returns home to reclaim Yifan as his mate and help him build up a life with the three precious little cubs who were blindly brought into the world. The road however is going to be very long and unstable but Suho is positive that they'll be able to make it through and be the little family that they should have always been.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol, Guan Xiaotong/Lu Han (EXO), Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris
Series: Lupine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2101308
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an older fic of mine, originally posted on AFF under the same username, that I simply adored because it was a challenge to write and something that I'm still very proud of to this day. This is not an easy story to get through, there is subjects that can be upsetting and worrying with dealing the aftermath of child rape, an early presentation which is discussed at length and child rejection and a few other topics. I would not recommend you read this if those sorts of subjects make you uncomfortable or trigger you off. However there is lots of cuteness and kid Tao, Sehun and Kai as brothers which is adorable in of itself so I hope you enjoy.   
> I started writing a sequel story to it, with a massive change to how the epilogue originally went and even though the prologue's not quite yet finished, I wanted to share it here as well but thought it best to put the original story up so people will know what the heck is going on unless you've previously read it on AFF of course.   
> So this is the first story and it's long and probably not that grammatically correct as I don't really have the time at the moment to go through and fully edit it and it was done roughly at the time but please forgive that it's over two years ago that this fic was finished so yeah.   
> Also Shinee feature in this fic, briefly and they'll be a big part of the next fic along but I'll put plenty of warnings in about that. But for now, here's the story and I hope you enjoy.

Prologue  
White and Red Ribbons

Rain has always fascinated Joonmyeon, even when he was a little child his parents had said that he adored to just sit and watch the raindrops fall down from the sky or else trace the little patterns against his window as soon as he was able to work out how to do so. It was said that most wolf children hated the rain when they were first born, choosing to shy away from it as it was just a constant wetness that fell from the sky and they were unable to process it. Not Joonmyeon however, he seemed to prefer it over any other type of weather and always wanted more of it to fall. Many of the grownups called him cute, saying that he probably had a natural affinity to water or something along those lines which could explain the young shifters unique tastes, but Joonmyeon did not really pay attention to what most adults said.   
He was carefree and a spirited little character, happy to go exploring and adventuring whenever the opportunity presented itself and always looking to be involved in something that would undoubtedly cause mayhem for someone somewhere down the line. But it was never in a malicious sense, it was just the way that Joonmyeon was. Even when he would be locked up in the house for whatever reason, it was perfectly possible to discover that all of the towels from the airing cupboard had disappeared to make a fort, or that there would be hundreds of pieces of Lego all arranged in various blocks to build a city in the living room or the bathroom would have been turned into a science lab or just whatever crazy adventure that Joonmyeon liked to get involved with.   
He kept a record of all his adventures, in what he thought was his grown-up handwriting, in a large book which he had discovered in the attic that held nothing but blank pages and the words ‘ACUT’ in faded typography on the cover. He had never bothered to fill in the missing letters of the word, despite being able to clearly see them and owning several gold pens which he used sometimes when drawing treasure to make pieces for his games of treasure hunt with his friends. He hid the book under his bed so that he could work on it in secret at night with his special torch. Of course, his parents knew all about the book but saw no harm in Joonmyeon keeping it as they could see it was a good way for the little shifter to practice his works, spelling, sentence structure and everything else that he would need to do when he got to High School.   
Joonmyeon was really looking forward to those days, even though they were so far away in his eight-year-old mind, but he had promised that he would strive hard and become the best student in the school. Then he’d meet the perfect mate and they’d graduate together and everything would just be picture perfect. Like his current obsession of Teen Wolf High Musical where everyone got together with the most perfect of mates that made everything oh so much better and brighter. No one had bothered to quite explain to the youngster that the world he watched wasn’t exactly true but they could see no harm in it, besides pretty much all of the other children in Joonmyeon’s class had watched the film as well and it served as a good playground game. Plus, the craze would probably die out within the next month or so, at least that’s what Joonmyeon’s mother prayed for as if she had to hear another rendition of Summer Puppy Love she was going to take something really rather heavy and throw it at someone. Namely whoever had introduced Joonmyeon to the film in the first place or even better the producers of the movie who should have known better than this.   
But at the moment, with it being a soggy wet Saturday afternoon, Joonmyeon was indulging in his favourite childhood past time of simply watching the rain fall. Whilst most others would be as far away from the windows as possible, colouring something in a bright shade of orange that really shouldn’t have been that colour, but there was no stopping his five year old cousin Kyungsoo when he got colouring, Joonmyeon was curled up in one of the large bay windows of his house, tracing the patterns of the raindrops with his fingers whilst he cuddled an old, much faded forest scene blanket to his small body and giggled cutely at the small rumble of thunder that came in from the north.   
“It’s okay Soo,” Joonmyeon called, turning to face his little cousin who had gone a pale shade of white at the first sound of the thunder not a minute ago, causing his little auburn coloured ears to flatten in worry and dismay, “It’s just Old Farmer Giles rolling potatoes down the stairs! Nothing to worry about.”   
Unfortunately for Joonmyeon, his little funny story did not sit well with Kyungsoo at all and with the next clap of thunder that was practically over their house, the little five-year-old boy with the auburn ears and tail let out a shriek of fear and went racing away to find his mother so that he could wail, cry and generally be the little baby that he was. Joonmyeon wasn’t overly worried about that though he knew fine well that Kyungsoo did not like thunderstorms in the slightest as most omegas were fearful of them. The grown-up ones tended to better cope with the rainstorms that frequented this side of the city. His mum did anyway but she was rather good at hiding her emotions from Joonmyeon should she need to do so, though the little eight-year-old boy with the black ears and tail had yet to figure this out.   
All wolf children were easy to identify by their ears and tail, it was something that had developed naturally over the years to make it so that they were never mistake for human children and given to the wrong family. There were nasty tails from ancient times about changeling children who would be swapped with a human child and then they would turn into monstrous forms that would destroy the household and terrorize anyone within, often resulting in the death of someone until the changeling was caught. This was of course complete poppycock and no one ever really believed it these days, though there were still a few who resented the wolf children and made their dislike actively known but they were few and far between and the wolf folk had come to accept that there would always be humans who did not know how to react to them. Generally, these were humans who were brought up to believe in certain ways and they took those views completely to the next level but the Wolves would leave them be and only ever directly step in if said people tried to directly threaten their children in any form.   
Joonmyeon was unique in his family for two reasons, the first was that he was the first Male Alpha to have been born in the last three generations and the second was that his coat was a luscious midnight black that was flecked with small white fluffy bits that made people think of stars. In wolf form, he appeared to be almost like a patch of nighttime sky which had fallen to the ground and taken on the form of the most adorable cub according to his mother and as a human child he was bright, happy and always so considerate to others. He was of average height and build, giving off a caring attitude to those who knew him or wanted to befriend him and for the most part it was very hard to believe that he was an alpha. Joonmyeon tended to mother people more, especially those he cared about, was calm, gentle and knew how to deal with boisterous little cubs and had a smile which would melt people’s hearts to make them coo at the youngster.   
His alpha side had rarely surfaced in his young years but it was there, though it took a lot for anyone to bring it out of the youngster. Joonmyeon said that he saw no point in strutting around like he owned the place when it was much more fun to have plenty of friends and adventures with them. The few times that the alpha side had come out had been close to unheard of and extremely frightening to those who had witnessed it though they never actually spoke of what happened aloud. Some of Joonmyeon’s friends had deserted him after he had gone all alpha on a boy who was picking on Kyungsoo in the playground one time but Joonmyeon had just shrugged it off with a nonchalance of maturity which beguiled his young age. “I didn’t do anything to them, if they’re that scared then they’re being silly and should think about where they stand in the world.”   
His father had talked long and hard to Joonmyeon about those words, wanting to make sure that his son had not picked up some strange concept of how an alpha should be but had come away with a smile on his face saying to his wife that whilst their son would indeed be very unorthodox, he was most certainly an alpha who knew his pride, place in the pack and what would be expected of him one day in those terms.   
Since then Joonmyeon had kept only a select group of friends but he did not seem to be troubled by it in the slightest. Even on a day like today, when the thunder was rolling in steadily, sending out the occasional streak of lightening and bringing down a forceful lashing of rain that was bouncing back of the pavements, Joonmyeon felt no trouble because whilst he could not go out and play, he could enjoy just watching the rain and storm.   
He could never explain why he enjoyed watching this weather in the slightest, it always felt so freeing somehow to the little eight-year-old boy. Almost as if the water could bring something to him that no other element could. Letting out a sigh as his warm breath had misted up the window, Joonmyeon tutted in annoyance and leaned across to rub at the glass with the sleeve of his shirt in order to clear it. “Naughty breath blocking my view,” he spoke aloud to himself, not really caring if anyone heard him or not, “You know I like the rain, why did you do that?”   
Finished his little task, Joonmyeon smiled and glanced out of the window just as a long, forked section of lightening crashed down into the street in front of his house, illuminating everything for several seconds with flashes of white, blue and that strange colour he could never quite describe before it all disappeared from view. Though as Joonmyeon blinked his eyes to dispel the strange colour spots that were now burned temporarily onto his iris’s, he saw something that had not been in the street before the rain had started.   
In fact, he wasn’t actually sure that there was something in the street at all, until a second flash of lightening illuminated the large black van that had just slammed its doors before it began to speed off into the dark streets that were washed with the rain water. Joonmyeon felt an odd sort of pull in his gut, something telling him that he had to go outside, right this second and he couldn’t delay for very long. Being only eight, he naturally followed this instinct, pausing only long enough to pull on a pair of wellington boots and a green raincoat which belonged to him and fit snugly. For some insane reason, Joonmyeon also picked up a secondary raincoat, this one a light blue with yellow ducks on it that he was pretty sure belonged to his other cousin Jessica because Kyungsoo would throw the biggest tantrum fit if he had to wear something like that. Though he did not dwell too much on that thought as he reached up to grab the spare key from the little hook on the side of the door, used it to open the door with the extra window slits, replaced the key and then headed out into the drive way at the front of the house.   
For some reason that his young mind could not comprehend at that moment, Joonmyeon also remembered to put the sneb on the door so that he could keep the heat in but get back into the house easily. He didn’t know why this would be important but it was something that his instinct taught him to do and he just followed it. There was no need to question anything at this age, what would be the point. Questions were for grownups anyway, and Joonmyeon wasn’t a grown up in the slightest.   
The temperature outside was far colder than what Joonmyeon had expected it to be but he didn’t let that thought phase him in the slightest as he was still so certain that there was something else that was far more important than him being cold. The rain was still lashing down, bringing with it the smell of wet earth that tickled his nose in the most delightful of ways but as he passed by the car and headed towards the small road that connected the estate, a more metallic taste replaced the earthy smell which caused a frown to cross Joonmyeon’s face. He had never come across a metallic smell like this, or at least if he had it had never been in such a high amount before and it became very tempting to turn right back around into the house and tell his mother that something very wrong was out in the rain at the end of the drive way.   
But Joonmyeon did not do that, he had his mind firmly set on the task at hand and would not give up on it until he had discovered whatever it was that wanted his undivided attention. It was a stubborn streak that would remain with him throughout all of his life and whilst at times it would be considered to be a high virtue, it could also be a hindrance.   
Though any thoughts of him being called a stubborn old fool were washed straight out of his mind when a green welly clad foot stepped into what should have been a fairly deep but clear puddle, but instead disturbed a ribbon of red that swirled almost uselessly back and forth in the water as though it was not meant to be there. Childish curiosity made Joonmyeon lean down, carefully dipping his fingers into the red ribbon to see if it was attached to something only to find that his fingers came away with red stains on them and the rest of the ribbon remained in the water. It took him a few seconds to process the fact that this was blood in the rain and out of shock and childish nature, he initially looked up to see if there were any more ribbons of red coming down from the sky above before his ears pricked ever so slightly in his hood as a tiny whimper of pain started up. Even though Joonmyeon was only eight, he recognized that sound instinctively, despite it being quiet and he ran straight towards it.   
It was a high-pitched sound, one that humans could not really hear and it always reminded Joonmyeon of a whistle being played through a computer to change its pitch. This one however reminded him more of a flute than a whistle but it was still unmistakably the sound of an omega in distress. He hadn’t heard the actual call too many times, at least not in this context, but Joonmyeon’s natural alpha instincts had taken over with the need to protect the injured omega. Any alpha who heard that pitiful sound would want nothing more than to rush to the omega in question and help them, it was an instinctual element that categorized the relationship between Alphas and Omegas.   
Omegas by nature were diverse as any other type of wolf. Some were strong, quick witted and could easily outrun any who tried to take them on, others were simpering and wanted to be pampered constantly and there were those who could easily be mistaken for being of other ranks depending on how they portrayed themselves. The only things that was common amongst all Omegas was that they could only mate successfully with an Alpha, who would have to go through a long courting period and marking routine that was complicated and something that Joonmyeon was not yet concerned with. The fact that they all had to go through heats at least twice a year from the age of fifteen or so and that if injured then they would release a high pitched whine like noise which would draw Alpha’s to them in order to protect or get help.   
It was seen as a terrible crime for an omega to be hurt on purpose and generally speaking if a call was heard then the local authorities would undoubtedly turn up in a hurried manner after as well, because usually that call meant that the omega was in a terrible amount of pain.   
So Joonmyeon had no qualms in continuing down towards the end of his driveway, now oblivious to the rain as the tiny whimper started to get higher in noise level and his heart virtually broke in two at the sound. It was so lonely, so upset, so terrified and scared and Joonmyeon wanted nothing more than to bundle whoever was making that noise up into his arms and protect them forever. It was probably one of the reasons why when he rounded the corner, expecting to find an adult who had tripped or something like that, that a yell of sheer panic, disbelief and horror escaped from his lips.   
Lying on the curb, not too far from the drain was a child, no older or younger than himself probably, who did not look to be even real to Joonmyeon. Their skin was pale, lacerated with wounds that dripped more ribbons of red than the youngster had seen in his life and a crop of hair that was messy, stuck to a sweaty forehead that was practically shivering. The child was devoid of clothing, allowing Joonmyeon the chance to briefly notice that there was a huge concentration of red ribbons around the lower regions of the boy – a male omega Joonmyeon figured as the distressed sound could only be coming from him – that looked as though it had been roughly cut open and then sewed back up again by the most inexperienced person in the entire world.   
What startled Joonmyeon more however was the luscious white wolf ears and tail that despite having been covered in the red ribbons, mud and other things he was too young to know about at the time, and the youngster could feel his heart quicken, break and then just go silent for a few seconds. He blinked, moving forward to throw the spare rain mack over the boy, which startled him awake with panicked wide brown eyes that very nearly stole the right year old’s breath away. Immediately the eyes of the boy beneath him closed in pain, a sad, sobbing wailing escaping from his mouth but Joonmyeon could find no reason to chide him. Whatever this was, even in Joonmyeon’s young mind, was wrong, horrible and something that should have not happened in the slightest.   
He acted quickly grabbing hold of the hood of the jacket and pulling it up over the boy’s ears, “Shh, it’s okay. I’ll call for my Mummy real quick and then we’ll get you to someplace safe. Okay?”   
The boy did not answer, instead sobbing harshly and tried to claw at his chest which instinctively Joonmyeon tried to stop, “No, no…don’t do that. You’re already hurt and that will make it…. what?”   
The black eared boy’s eyes had naturally fallen to look at the place which this terrified youngster was attempting to claw at and to his surprise and horror he saw two small bundles of very wet fluff, that were attempting to suckle on the slightly extended nipples that should not have been on a boy of this age. Joonmyeon was stunned into silence before the white eared boy let out a sobbing squeak, extending his hand away from himself as if to reach for something and Joonmyeon turned.   
Just in the nick of time to see a third almost incomprehendable bundle of fluff go skirting near the drain. Moving quickly, Joonmyeon practically leapt the small ten-foot distance to the bundle which had snagged itself on a piece of rubbish and quickly pulled it into his hands where he protectively cradled it as he stepped back from the gushing waters. Blinking away the rain that was dripping into his eyes, Joonmyeon found himself staring at an impossibly small, black sightless wolf cub who must have literally been only a few hours old as it snuffled at his fingers trying to get some milk.   
A numbness took hold of Joonmyeon for a few very long seconds and he only really came too when he heard the frantic shouting of his mother from the doorway. Blinking he looked down to find himself kneeling right next to the boy who had three cubs desperately trying to get some milk out of his body though even Joonmyeon could tell that the boy wasn’t able to do such things. By rights, he shouldn’t even be able to have cubs and something terrible had happened to his fragile little body.   
Joonmyeon blinked, leaning down to press a warm hand on the side of the boy’s face before gulping, “I’ll help you. I’ll make you strong again. Just trust in me, I won’t hurt you.”   
Raising his head up, Joonmyeon called loud and clear for his Mama, telling her exactly where he was and the woman let out a shriek of fear when she came around the corner of the drive way to find the horrendous sight which Joonmyeon had been dealing with for the past few minutes. It did not take long for his parents, aunt and uncle to have the white eared boy carefully picked up from the floor, along with the cubs who refused naturally to be separated from their mother at this point, before the shivering form was placed near the fire in the living room, on a rug with fresh towels brought in to dry him off and some of Joonmyeon’s clothes to attempt to warm him up.   
Joonmyeon’s father took charge of ringing for an ambulance and the police, his eyes showing clear signs of distress over this whole situation and Joonmyeon did not blame him in the slightest. In fact, for the first time in a long while, the eight-year-old felt like he wasn’t much help at all because the grownups were fluttering around and appeared to be just dealing with whatever this situation was throwing their way. So Joonmyeon did the only thing that he could think to do, which was to sit quietly next to the unnamed boy and very carefully comb out the knots from his hair and ears so that they wouldn’t get all clumped up and become painful. The adults let him do this, seeing as it appeared to keep the injured boy calm and whilst it meant that Kyungsoo had no one to really play with it, it did not pose much of a problem seeing as the little omega just clambered up to his room and fell asleep cuddled up in his mound of plushi’s.  
Suddenly the mysterious boy’s eyes snapped open, a frightened squeal escaping from his lips but Joonmyeon just rested his hand upon his head and stroked through the locks, “Shh, it’s okay, my little one, I’m here.”  
The dark brown eyes swiveled up in fright towards the sound of the voice, the mewling of the pups going completely unnoticed but Joonmyeon doubted that if the boy knew what was going on with his body at the moment. Joonmyeon found himself fascinated by those eyes however, they were so deep and dark and they reminded Joonmyeon of his own home which was strange since that was many miles away. “Who…where?”   
“You’re safe,” Joonmyeon repeated, aware that his mother was approaching, “Wherever you were before, you’re not there now. You’re here, with me, with my mother, father, aunt, uncle and little baby cousin Kyungsoo.”   
The boy blinked again, “Who you are?”   
“Joonmyeon,” he replied instantly, smiling as he picked up a slight accent to the words almost as if speaking Korean wasn’t native to this youngster, “I’m Joonmyeon. What’s your name?”   
The boy blinked, seeming to look blank before letting out a yell and slashing his arm downwards towards the puppies who were still trying to drink from him. Thankfully Joonmyeon’s mother was close enough to stop him and gently shook her head, “Don’t…don’t push them little one. They’re just trying to…”   
The boy’s eyes and mind had finally landed on the puppies below him and a heart-breaking cry escaped from his lips as he began to babble in a terrified manner. Joonmyeon could not catch most of the words, some were Korean, some were Chinese he thought, a few were in a language that he had not heard before and it was all a mixed jumble of panic that was to be expected from someone so young. Someone who should not have to be a mother to three ailing cubs who were only trying to survive. Joonmyeon was quick to resume his previous petting, hoping that it would calm the boy down and to everyone’s relief it did though the boy still struggled with his breathing and large fat tears were rolling down his cheeks.   
Joonmyeon gently shuffled his position so that he was lying behind the boy, spooning him so that he could continue to pet the rough hair and ears as well as hopefully stop him from lashing out at the pups, “You have really nice hair, you know?” he tried, hoping to distract the boy.   
This only caused more tears to flow, “No…not…dirty…filthy…wrong…so wrong…”   
Joonmyeon’s mother let out a sound of distress, mouthing the word ‘abuse’ to his father who was still on the phone and the alpha was nodding clearly in distress as well.   
Joonmyeon however did not notice, instead focusing on the boy, “No…You’re not. They’re not.”   
“Am…” the boy hiccupped back, “allowed…. led on…my fault, all my fault.”   
“No,” Joonmyeon said with a whole lot more conviction to his tone than even he thought he had at the moment, “No. Whatever this is, no. You’re just a kid, if a big mean adult did this to you then they’re wrong. Not you. Not these little ones either. You’ve done nothing wrong.”   
The boy shook his head, hiccupping as a fresh set of tears started to come out of his eyes as he tried once again to smack the babies away from his body, feeling their little mouths trying desperately to get whatever nutrients out of his body that they could but already he knew that he had nothing to give. His body wasn’t prepared for this, wasn’t able to cope and he would have preferred it if those precious little dots of light which had just about kept him going in the darkness had not been brought into this world because he knew that he couldn’t look after him. Knew that his body held nothing of the omega traits that were needed to look after puppies and therefore it would be better if they were gone. He couldn’t feed them, couldn’t look after them or protect them from the monster in the dark who would just take them away to do horrible things to them or worse kill them right in front of his eyes.   
But most of all, the boy didn’t want to look at them. Didn’t want to feel that blossoming feeling in his heart, that instinctual nature to protect, to guide, to love them. His precious little babies, the ones that would bring him smiles no matter what happened throughout the years, the ones who would give him a family of his own. The lie that he told himself to somehow survive the nightmare that had become his life because he knew that no Alpha would take him on, not after he had allowed this to happen to him. He was tainted, used, disgusting and did not deserve a chance of happiness in the slightest. He didn’t want to look at his babies because he didn’t want to become attached to them, didn’t want to hold them for a moment longer because if he did then he would never let go and he’d just end up alone, forgotten and another one for the heap.   
It was better to reject them, to make sure they were taken away from his body, to be given to someone who could look after them, make sure they grew up knowing happiness and had everything and more that they could ever want or dream of happening. Then this way, the pain wouldn’t be as harsh, wouldn’t linger too long and finally he would be free.   
“Off,” he chanted, not entirely sure when he had started to say that word or why it hurt so much to say it but he had to do something, had to get those precious little bundles away, to somewhere safe, “Off…get them off…please…please…take them….”   
“Little one,” the female omega from before spoke, her hands soft on his face making him flinch, “They need you right now.”   
The brown eyes opened, hopelessness and despair flooding them, “I’ll kill them. I can’t…my body…they’re hurting…I don’t want….ah!” a pain scream started from his lips as Joonmyeon’s mother looked down to see that one of the cubs had bitten through one of the very sensitive nipples to try and obtain the none existent milk from the boy and was causing more blood to flow out of the already heavily bruised, battered body.   
There was a frantic sort of panic for a few minutes as Joonmyeon’s mother and aunt tried to remove the squealing cubs away from the boy, because even though he had said to take him away some of his natural instincts were kicking in and he tried to fight to keep the cubs at his side. He even bit down harshly on a hand that was just trying to keep his face away from the puppies, he bit hard enough to draw blood and leave a permanent mark he was sure, but no one chided him for it in the slightest. The voices around him just spoke calmly and with reassurance that the boy did not know he could honestly believe.   
It was at some point during this mess of cries, scratches, wails and other assorted confusion that Joonmyeon learnt the boy’s name was in fact Yifan and when the final puppy was removed from its mother to be bundled up safely in a warm towel and taken across to the opposite side of the kitchen where a small bowl of formula had been prepared, Joonmyeon very carefully resumed his spooning position behind the very fragile boy and softly began petting his ears again, being very careful to not startle him.   
Randomly Joonmyeon found himself singing softly, a tune which he did not fully know where it had come from but one that he felt fitted this situation appropriately: “Sometimes, I close my eyes and fall into the thought of you, you habitually imagine of that familiar image of me, despite my clumsiness, you still like me no matter what, but do I deserve to be loved by you? You who has always been waiting for me You who embrace me with your arms, I won’t forget, I will make you happy, like the ‘we are one’ word I’ve told you.”

Yifan let out a shuddering breath, “You shouldn’t say that to me…” 

“Why not?” Joonmyeon asked quietly back, aware that there were people talking but he was more focused on the very broken little omega in his arms. 

“Because…” Yifan started, hiccupping again, “I’m useless.” 

“No, you’re not,” Joonmyeon said slowly, nuzzling slightly at the side of the boy’s neck, “You’re someone whose been through something terrible and you’ll make it through all that is to come too.” 

A slight disbelieving look came from a reflective surface near to where the pair were lying and Joonmyeon couldn’t help but smile at the expression, finding it slightly adorable even if his whole world had been rocked violently. “Because I’m here. I’ll be your Guardian and make sure that no one ever hurts you ever again.” 

Yifan was quiet for a few seconds, before he slowly shook his head, “No one can make that promise.” 

“Well I can and I will,” Joonmyeon said with a fierce determination in his words again.

“You’re too innocent for this world,” Yifan spoke quietly in a voice that was far too mature, grown up and filled with so many countless emotions that Joonmyeon did not fully know who to read those words but he wasn’t going to give up. 

“Who else is going to protect you, Fanfan?” Joonmyeon replied, “I mean, you’re a long way from home, right? You’ll need someone to Guard you and I’ll do that for you.” 

A very tired sigh escaped from Yifan, though it was laced with a tiny amount of fondness as well as tears, “You won’t be able to protect me forever.” 

Joonmyeon smiled, “It doesn’t have to be forever, though does it? I’ll protect you until you smile again, how does that sound?” 

Yifan was quiet for a long while and Joonmyeon thought that he had gone to sleep so carefully he shifted upright to glance down at the boy to see if he was right. Only to find that Yifan was wide awake, staring at the wall opposite him with no real objective in his eyes. “Until I smile again…” he spoke in a tiny little whisper, “Suho Guards me…though it’ll never come.” 

With that Yifan’s eyes slipped closed and a heavy sounding breath escaped him which caused a sudden panic to well up in the eight-year-old Joonmyeon’s heart. He reached forward, shaking Yifan by the shoulder and was terrified to the point of screaming when there was no response. 

Medics came rushing in, moving Joonmyeon away from the boy on the carpet as they began their frantic work and Joonmyeon could only scream helplessly towards them as he desperately tried to reach out for the boy. He did not understand why it hurt so much in the slightest, the mere concept of mates was as foreign to him as the concept of girls at this stage in his life, but Joonmyeon knew instinctively that if Yifan died then his own life would not be worth living no more. 

He screamed, cried and acted up terribly until the moment when Yifan suddenly started to breath properly once again and his heartbeat became steady. Joonmyeon passed out into a deep slumber after that, scaring his mother to pieces but he would wake up in her arms later that evening, knowing that Yifan was in good hands despite not being able to see him. He didn’t try to explain this to his parents, as they already had a look in their eye which said that they knew what was going on but he didn’t question it. 

He was too young to understand, but he vowed that once he did, then he would make sure that he kept his promise to Yifan as there was nothing that could possibly stop him from doing that.


	2. Chapter 1 - Heading Home

Watching the countryside flashing by the window as the train rushed smoothly along the tracks, Suho found himself blinking in surprise as familiarity set in. He knew these hills, trees and small farm steads that were coming into view and passing by him in a matter of seconds, and it was easy to recognize the sense of coming home. He found himself strangely surprised by the notion, since it had been well over eight years since he had last seen this landscape and he had thought that it would have all changed. That maybe the increasing needs of the industrial age would begin to seep through to the outlaying countryside and start to take over, replacing the traditional crafts with machines and slowly churning the green land away. 

There again maybe there were still those people who preferred the more simple life, those who could work off the land and make it grow back just as, if not more beautiful, than before. Maybe he really was entering the lands of the Wolves again, where nature played just as big a part in life as living did and he found a smile settling on his face. Had he really become that much of a city lump that he forgot the basics of living in harmony with mother nature? Hopefully not, but Suho knew that he really shouldn’t be all that surprised that he would recognize home so soon. 

This was the country where he was born, where he had grown up and experienced virtually all of his firsts. His first few tentative steps into the world, his first discovery of mud and the mess it could make. The first time he had experienced rain and come to love it, whereas most did not want anything to do with it and the first time he had made friends, learnt to laugh and started his education. This was the place that above all else would always be his home, and when given the opportunity to return to it after years of being the city Suho had jumped straight at the chance. Not because he didn’t like the city, in fact it as a place that he adored no end because of the possibilities and the ever-changing nature of it. There were many things to do and see in the city, so many shops, places of interest, resturants that dealt in all sorts of different kinds of food from all around the world and just an endless selection of different opportunities that made it feel like a dream that was never ending. 

Of course, there were many bad things about being in the city, the pollution was terrible and resulted in many people and wolves constantly having to wear face masks to prevent themselves from getting sick, and there was also a lot of crime. Suho had been lucky to avoid getting mugged or set upon by the local gangs that lingered around a lot of street corners, but he had known some people who had been caught out and the results were not pretty. Though generally Suho pushed those thoughts to the side, he did not like to dwell on dark topics and the likes because they brought down his mood and generally made things just a hell of a lot more depressing. So instead he focused on the happier aspects of his life, on the studying that had gotten him noticed not just by his professors, but by many different high class organizations who had tried to recruit him for various different posts but Suho had politely declined them all. 

Until StaticsPro offered him a position in their legal department with a bursary enough to allow him to have a successful gap year with only minimal employment. StaticsPro were a legal firm who dealt with the Wolf and Shifter community and balanced it out with that of the human populace to ensure that no wolf was exploited. They also dealt with crimes that were specifically allocated to the wolf population and making sure that the justice was adequately dealt out at a bare minimum. They were also the company that helped with recognizing the legality of mates and how they worked within a society of humans and the constant cultivation of a new harmony between humans and wolves. Suho had always dreamt of getting involved with the company ever since the incident twelve years ago, and now that they had practically offered him a job with a gap year dependency and a firm reason to travel back home, he was getting to live his dream. It felt almost a little too surreal, like this was all some fairy tale that would eventually become unraveled but looking down at his hands, Suho found himself letting out a sigh. 

This world wasn’t all sunshine, rainbows and peace. There were dark people out there, monsters who would destroy innocence because they did not know how to deal with it in the slightest and then dump it when they had no clue how to fix it. Suho gently rolled the fingers of his left hand over the clear bite mark on his right hand, the terrified reaction of a tiny boy trying to fight off instincts which he couldn’t understand, the will to protect and look after three little innocent lives, despite the fact that he was trying to push them away because he could not physically look after them. 

Suho had never once complained about the bite mark, or queried why it had remained distinctively on his skin when by all medical accounts, it should have disappeared after a few days. Suho’s parents had been highly worried at first about it, concerned for its meaning and a whole bunch of other adult things which the eight-year-old had not understood very well at the time; but once he reached the age where the subject of mates and claiming came very hurriedly into their sex education classes, the boy’s understanding had finally come about. Though strangely Suho was not disturbed by the fact that he had already been marked as someone’s mate, through a rather unconventional bite, because the truth was that when he had gone out in the rain to answer that poor omegas desperate call, he had already known that it was a sound that he could not easily walk away from in the slightest. 

Plus, he had always kept contact with Yifan after that day, visiting him at every opportunity that he could until he was reunited with his family and even then, every day after school, before his homework, Suho would go to Yifan’s house which wasn’t that far away from his house, to check up on the boy and bring some extra pieces of work so that Yifan did not fall behind. They weren’t in the same school unfortunately, but it was at least a small amount of help. It took a long while for Yifan to get used to this odd routine and it took even longer for his elder brother Luhan to accept the fact that Suho was just there to make sure that his little brother was doing okay and healing after his ordeal. In fact, one day Luhan had been so frustrated with Suho’s presence that he had openly attacked the other younger alpha, out of a need to protect his baby brother and they had spent a full hour fighting in the garden. 

It was only stopped when a teary Yifan tried to break up the fight and had been accidentally smacked in the side of the face, causing a small white scar on his eyebrow. Both alphas had frozen in fear at the wail that had come out of the boy but it was broken a split second later when Suho threw himself literally into the line of fire and pulled Yifan into a hug. Gently he had cooed at the boy, petted his hair and whispered apologies into his beautiful white ears until Yifan had calmed down and stopped crying. Luhan had felt so incredibly guilty that he had very nearly ran away, until his younger brother caught him by the hand and made him join in the hug. It had been a strange day, even a stranger one to relay to his parents but ever since Luhan had been a sort of guiding big bother to Suho as well, seemingly intent on making sure that he was every last bit the perfect alpha for Yifan. 

They still fought from time to time, but mainly it was in a play fights or ones for practice, that saw neither of them really hurt. The odd scratch or bruise but nothing that had Yifan running out to them ever again. In fact, Yifan rarely came out to play in the back yard with the two alphas. He preferred to stay in his room where he would occasionally sit and watch from the window as the two of them carried on. Until the day when Suho had to tell both Luhan and Yifan that he was heading to the city because his parents had been reallocated there and there was no way for him to stay. Luhan had been quite vocal about it, saying that it wasn’t right or fair in the slightest but Yifan bless his soul, had just stood up from where he had been sitting, wrapped his arms tightly around Suho’s neck and whispered quietly to him, “Come home, one day, please?” 

He had pulled back at the point, clearly trying not to burst into a fresh flood of tears and Suho had been the one to step forward, pull the slightly younger boy into a hug and place a kiss upon his temple. He had promised, in the most round about fashion that he would indeed return to Yifan’s side and that he would keep in contact every single day to update Yifan about the City. Suho told Yifan that he’d send gifts and postcards and letters and the longer the young alpha babbled the less sense he actually made but it was still a highly cute little scene to observe from an outside perspective. When they had finally been parted, some hours later, neither boy had any tears left in their eyes and for the first time that Suho could remember, Yifan had gently smiled at him and his heart had practically burst at the sight. It was just a shy little smile, one that was filled with a gentle happiness and Suho had sworn to himself on that day he would always strive to make Yifan smile like that because the poor cub clearly needed it. 

Letting out a sigh, Suho turned his attention away from the rolling scenery to the white piece of stationary paper that had a cute little cartoon wolf in the corner and wondered if he really needed to finish the letter or not. He had kept his promise, writing every single day to the young omega and sending back postcards, pictures, odd little toys that he got out of capsule machines that he thought that Yifan would most apricate, and just whatever he had found to send back. It was rare that he got a reply from Yifan, but he understood that writing wasn’t the youngsters strong point so he treasured those letters and hand drawn pictures that he did get back from the other. 

Generally, the pictures weren’t that good, they were sort of lopsided and looked very much like how a child would draw and half the time he couldn’t actually tell what the heck they were supposed to be but there was something so endearing about them that Suho had come to love them. He had even framed his favorites and put them on his wall at College, receiving a lot of crazy comments from his friends about them but he refused point blank to take them down and after a while everyone came to appreciate them in some form or other. But that still didn’t quite answer his own internal question about today’s letter. It would be very easy just to finish it off and then give it to Yifan directly but he didn’t actually know if Yifan was meeting him off the train. 

Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn’t really know much about what Yifan was doing these days. The omega was very quiet in his letters, only occasionally mentioning things that he thought were important and generally speaking the letters were never longer than a simple page of A4. Suho was surprised at himself for not noticing sooner but there again he did not want to pressure Yifan in any sense of the word. Sure, he had marked him years ago but it was not a full guarantee that they would be mates, though Suho really hoped that they were. He honestly couldn’t even imagine himself with someone else by his side though there had been a number of confessions to him throughout his college years. 

Something which he found a little bit on the funny side, since he was convinced that he wasn’t exactly what would be called the most desirable of alphas. For one thing, he was shorter than most, frequently getting mistaken for being a beta or even in some cases an omega because his height did not really lead to him being strong and dependable. Plus, he had a calm nature, was very inquisitive and sought intelligence rather than strength which generally made him different from other alphas as well. But there was something to his smooth, clear face, dark brown eyes and naturally black hair which had been dyed a pleasingly warm brown by one of his friends and he had just sort of kept it ever since. His ears and tail were still the same sleek black that they had been ever since he was a kid and many a times it was perfectly possible to find someone cooing over them, petting him to their hearts content and Suho just had to basically sit there and take it. 

Particular if Chanyeol got a chance to pet his ears, the big beta with the gummy smile and happy virus would spend hours just petting him which went from calm and relaxing to extremely awkward within the space of ten minutes. It was not that Chanyeol meant to do such things, it was just that it always seemed to go that way which was a strange occurrence that no one could explain. There again no one could rightfully explain Chanyeol because by all accounts he should be an Alpha with his impressive height, easy-going charm and all purpose likeability but he wasn’t. Suho suspected at one point that he may be an omega in disguise but this was thwarted when at a party a fight had broken out between two omegas and another beta as to which one of them was actually dating the giant until they realized that they were all sort of being unintendedly played and Suho had rapidly left that situation. 

When Chanyeol had complained at him later for ditching him and pulled the whole ‘Bros before Hos’ business with him, Suho had just calmly replied with, “You made your bed, so you sleep in it,” and the argument was dropped from that point onwards. Thankfully the situation was resolved pretty quickly though it was clear that Chanyeol was to be avoided at all costs by anyone on campus; but that lasted about a month before someone else did something even more silly and became the newest topic of conversation. Chanyeol however swore off dating and instead focused on his studies which was definitely a good way for him to go. 

Shaking his head, he glanced at the letter and decided that it would be best to just finish it off and put it straight into the post box. He was pretty sure that there was one right next to the station so it would be good to keep up the tradition and hopefully it would bring a smile to Yifan’s lips when he realized that he was receiving a letter posted on the same day that Suho had actually come back home. That was of course if Yifan was speaking to him, which was a possibility that somewhat frightened Suho for a few seconds but a happy blip from his phone, which lit up automatically with a screensaver of one of Yifan’s drawings dispelled that thought completely. 

Quietly he unlocked his phone to find himself frowning at receiving a text message from an unregistered number in his phone contact book but he still opened it regardless because it could be from any number of different sources. Plus one of his city friends had a rather bad habit of constantly having to change their number because they really were idiots with the things that they said over messenger services. Opening the message, he blinked in surprise because it was merely two words long but not a second later a small picture message was attached that brought a bright and happy smile to Suho’s face. The picture was a drawing of something that was probably supposed to be a wolf but it looked more like a dog which had extra bits attached to it just to make it appear better and Suho couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. Quickly he saved the contact under the self-chosen name of ‘Fanfan’ and smiled once again when he saw the simple two word message on the screen above the picture. “Welcome Home.” 

For a second Suho debated what to put as a reply before grinning and quickly typing out, “Thank you! I look forward to seeing you soon 😊 ❤” 

He had been told many times that using emoji was a little bit on the childish side but if anyone did tell him off, Suho had the ultimate revenge plan of constantly sending emoji messages until the other person just accepted their fate and learnt that they would have to put up with them. There was another blip from the phone and Suho had to stop himself from squeeing like a fan-girl because his reply was simply a  
‘-^-^-’ in response. 

~*~

There were a series of loud screams from the garden and Kyungsoo only just managed to look up from preparing the dinner for the triplets long enough to know that he didn’t need to start panicking right away. Sehun and Jongin were engaged in some form of crazy antics game once again, which generally involved them running around the back garden, screaming their heads off and occasionally tackling one another in a sort of dominance game that never really worked. The pair were both omegas, though they never once acted like it in the slightest. Both had a love of football or any game which allowed them to run around and let off some of the constant steam that they seemed to possess and both of them were extremely loud, hyperactive and generally a handful at the best of times When not being engaged in the educational television series that they adored or listening to their aunty reading them a story, the pair could inevitably be found running around the garden, playing hide and seek at all hours of the days, building city’s out of building blocks, making dens, climbing trees, trying to jump across the small brook two fields over from the house and generally coming home covered head to toe in mud. They were messy, crazy and every last bit imaginable of hyper-active eleven-year-old boys who were excited to be reaching their twelfth birthdays. 

Though on occasions it was still possible to see the pair as actual omegas, as both would agree to play with dolls or else sit and colour quietly in the corner for hours. Kyungsoo had found it strange at first, unable to understand what the pair were up to, until his parents had told him that it was perfectly natural for children to act in contradictory ways until they finally settled into their roles. His mother had shown him the photos of when he had been young, one day running around in the mud with his favourite dinosaur plushi and the next playing with his large dolls house and making sure everything was just so. Kyungsoo had tried desperately to deny that he had been like that but had failed miserably because he happened to be cooking dinner at the time and had helped Tao to make Fairy Cakes. His parents found it a little odd that Kyungsoo tried to act like a Beta rather than his natural omega status but they knew not to push the youngster and that with time he would come to accept everything. Kyungsoo hadn’t told them that he was already an omega in more ways than they knew but only one other person knew and for now he would keep it that way.

There came another scream from the garden and the elder omega glanced up to see that Sehun had pushed Kai over and started to play fight with him. How Kyungsoo hadn’t strangled the pair before now was anyone’s guess but in truth, Kyungsoo did not mind the loudness, mess and madness that came with the pair. It was nice to see them running around, having fun and generally just being little kids that they were supposed to be. Thankfully it was easy to tell the two apart as Sehun was the smallest of the duo, with fine wispy white hair that was just starting to darken down into a cheerful blond which made his white ears and tail stand out perfectly. Jongin, or Kai as he was nicknamed by practically everyone, looked the complete opposite of his brother with a natural tan to his skin, dark eyes that practically bore into the soul and a cheeky little smile that melted the hearts of anyone who looked at him. He had dark brown ears and tail, which sometimes lead to people believing that Kai was actually Kyungsoo’s son which had at one point caused a whole load of troubles for a brief period because his parents were guarded about telling people of the boy’s heritage. Thankfully it did not cause too much trouble and after punching one of the bullies in his school who would not drop the subject long after it had been cleared, Kyungsoo had a pretty much easy life after that as half the school revered him for standing up to the bullies whilst the other half were terrified of him. 

Kyungsoo did not care though, he had come to learn that day that there were some people who were just not worth bothering with, and those that were best to keep an eye on where the ones who made an effort regardless of the situation. Plus, it had made his life a whole lot easier too because there were very few betas or alphas who wanted an omega who was strong enough to knock them out. But the downside of that was when, on the very rare occasions, that Kyungsoo actually wanted a little alpha attention it made getting that attention extremely hard. Sure, he had his go-to alpha friends, Jongdae and Minseok but they were in an odd sort of relationship and he really didn’t want to be the cause of that all breaking up in the slightest. It had taken him months to convince the pair to get together and he wasn’t going to just break it for his stupid needs. 

There was of course Luhan as well but that was a no go from the start. Whilst Luhan was undoubtable one of the most gorgeous alphas for miles, Kyungsoo could never see him in that sort of light in the slightest and would just find it to be awkward. Especially seeing as during the summer months, Luhan would babysit Kyungsoo when he was younger and some of the games that they had played together made it impossible to see Luhan as anything but a rather silly looking boy who was chasing him around the house in a couple of towels with some cheese sticks for dangerous teeth. Yeap, that was definitely not an image that he wanted to see when they could potentially be in the throes of passion, because that would be the mood gone in five seconds flat as Kyungsoo would dissolve into a complete giggle fit. 

Plus, Kyungsoo had only had his heat twice since reaching the age of fourteen so it wasn’t that big of a deal to him. He counted himself lucky in that regard because he knew several other omegas that had their heats fairly regularly and had to go through the OmegaDate program to get an alpha to help them. It was a simple system really, omegas needing care throughout their heats could call upon the OD (as it was abbreviated) to send them a sensible, reliable and dependable Alpha who would look after them and who had gone through a full security, health and personality check to ensure that they were perfect for the job at hand. It was expensive but if used correctly it saved a lot of problems. Kyungsoo however did not want to go through that route, as he had some silly romantic notion that he would rather wait to meet his own beta or alpha who would be able to look after him but he was beginning to realize that he may have to start using the OD soon if he did not happen to come across that special someone soon. 

However, all thoughts of OD, heats, mates and other such related nonsense were completely out of his head as the fifteen-year-old omega was in the process of making a very large welcome home dinner for his elder cousin Joonmyeon, who was finally coming home from the big city. He wouldn’t dare to admit it aloud but he had missed the elder, knowing that his guidance had been invaluable and that he had a sort of happy, level headedness that just made everything flow along. Or maybe that was just how Kyungsoo remembered him and the other was bound to have changed in his time in the city but secretly Kyungsoo hoped that he hadn’t. There were many things in this world that needed to be fixed and changed for the betterment of the world, but Joonmyeon shouldn’t be one of them. Especially seeing as he probably did not realise that he already had a family to look after. Though knowing Joonmyeon, it was probably one of the many reasons that he was coming home at long last. 

Hearing the terrible two yelling at each other once again, Kyungsoo raised his head, auburn ears flattening in annoyance as he rapped harshly on the windowpane to get the pairs attention. “Sehun! Kai! If you don’t stop that right now I’m going to drag you inside for an early bath and bedtime. Play nicely with each other.” 

The pair stared at him for five seconds before Kai grinned manically, pulled his eyes down and stuck out his tongue towards Kyungsoo making a ‘Blurg’ sound before pushing Sehun off to go tearing up the nearest available tree with some half sounding cat-call of a song which would undoubtedly be something rather rude. Kyungsoo let out a sigh, shaking his head as he began to fix the salad once again, “Not going to chase him around today, don’t have the time.” 

“Want me to get the little rascal for you?” a new voice joined him in the kitchen and caused Kyungsoo’s ears to flick in surprise but he was too focused on his cooking to actually jump. He already knew that it was Luhan, the deep voice familiar to his ears and the scent of coffee and paperwork filtering in perfectly along with the other. Kyungsoo didn’t even need to turn around to know that Luhan had come here straight from work, ditching his jacket so that he could undo the buttons on his shirt before reaching across to lightly tap the table in front of the final triplet Zitao who was dutifully icing some biscuits so as not to scare the youngster who raised his head up in slight surprise before smiling brightly. 

“Afternoon Tao,” Luhan spoke and signed at the same time, so used to doing it that it was second nature, “Are you having fun?” 

“Yes,” Tao signed back accidentally squirting a bit too much frosting onto the biscuit he had been working on but not really focusing too much on that, “Big brother Kyungsoo said I could decorate the biscuits anyway that I wanted and they look so pretty, right?” 

Luhan couldn’t help but smile at the young cub’s enthusiasm, especially seeing as his brother Sehun had come trotting up next to the table to look at the biscuits with a clear express of awe that was adorable. “Wow, Taozi!” Sehun said, also immediately using sign language towards Tao, “These are cool. Can I help?” 

Zitao was actually the eldest of the triplets, a fact that could only be established well after they had been born but due to circumstances which no one could have prevented, he had suffered early complications with his hearing and was declared as having no ability in hearing what so ever. Even with the addition of hearing aids, his sound recognition was limited and most of the time he chose not to wear them because he typically got freaked out by how things sounded because he imagined them differently. Thankfully everyone was quick to learn sign language and Tao was very open with teaching other people to communicate with him which was a good thing. He was also the one who looked most like his mother, being tall for his age with sharp angular features and having deep dark eyes that were cutely covered with little eye bags that made him look something of a panda. His jet-black hair and snow white ears and tail added further to this look and it was one that Luhan thought was simply adorable. It was interesting to note that Sehun’s white ears were more of a creamy colour in comparison to Tao’s but neither of them seemed to mind this fact in the slightest. 

Sehun smiled when Tao handed him a tube of frosting and pointed to some of the biscuits that had already been completed and feverishly he began his work. Tao quietly returned to his own concentrated biscuit decorating and Luhan could not help the smile that crossed his features. Tao was by far the quietest of the three boys, preferring to do more focused activities though he would occasionally tumble about with his brothers in the living or playroom because he felt safe there. He tended to keep to himself in school, having only a select number of friends due to his condition and could often be found following someone around like a duckling. Some of the kids found this obnoxious but both Sehun and Kai had quickly curtailed anyone from messing around with their brother and from there it had sort of just flowed along. Tao had also began attentending martial arts classes recently and was really enjoying them from all accounts. Luhan had been worried when he first heard about this but Sehun had told him, rather honestly, that Tao wanted to become independent of his own and have the ability to fight off any one who would give him hassle. Luhan was still a little worried about this but Kyungsoo had threatened to kick him in the balls if he arged further so had rightfully shut up about it.

Ruffling the two boy’s hair, Luhan grinned, “I’ll go and get the final rag-a-muffin in for you Kyungsoo, though where are your parents?” 

“Gone to pick up Joonmyeon,” Kyungsoo replied, standing up from placing a pie in the oven, “He should be arriving at the station in around half an hour and they didn’t want to get stuck in traffic.”

“Ah should have figured,” Luhan said, about to step out of the back door when Kyungsoo caught up to him all super stealthy. 

Lightly the shorter man let out a sigh, before whispering, “Does Kris know?”

Having been dreading this conversation, Luhan wished he had stepped outside to grab Kai sooner, “Yes, he knows.” 

“And?” Kyungsoo asked, waiting to get something more now that he had at least one bit of information. 

Slightly flattening his silver ears in frustration, Luhan exhaled heavily, “I don’t know. He’s been super quiet the last day or so since he found out and he wasn’t back home when I checked in before coming here so I’m guessing that he may have gone to meet Joonmyeon off the train…whether he’ll come here or not is a completely different story however.” 

Nodding in response, Kyungsoo sighed and glanced towards the two little cubs on the table who were happily decorating the biscuits and making a mess as all good cubs were supposed to do. He smiled faintly before glancing back up at Luhan, “Does he still blame himself?” 

Sadly, Luhan nodded his head, “He’s trying Kyungsoo, he really is but I don’t think he truly understands what happened to him still to this day. I mean, I’ve seen the look in his eyes when he gets those pictures and videos from you…he wants to be part of their lives, he really does but he just can’t shake off the feeling of…well you know.” 

Again, nodding in response, Kyungsoo gave his elder friend a little shove, “Well hopefully with Joonmyeon’s return things will get better, right? Speaking off you best go and get that mud monster in before he tries to run around the house because I am not going around with a hoover again, if I can avoid it anymore today.” 

Saluting playfully, Luhan headed out into the back garden to try and catch hold of Kai which in of itself was usually a painful job, because it always took forever and a day. Kai was the most mischievous out of the three, seeming to have picked up a love for play and adventuring very early on and hated being stuck inside with nothing to do. Though he did have his tender moments, especially when he believed that no one was around and he’s arrange all of the toys correctly in the playroom or else place all of the correct teddy bears back onto their appropriate bed playing with each one very briefly and giving it the correct name. Luhan had smiled softly when he had caught Kai doing this quiet little game, remembering when Kris would do the exact same thing. It had been one of the first videos that he had taken of the boys at play to actually show to Kris when he started to ask to see them, even though it was still a very painful topic for his baby brother. 

Not that Luhan blamed Kris for his decision, even the most negligent of doctors would have agreed that there was no way that a baby should have to be forced to look after three precious little babies. It still sickened him to think what had happened to Kris all those years ago and how it had been dealt with, but he had also learnt to control those emotions and leave them safely out of his little brothers reach. Whilst time had certainly helped to heal the wounds on the others form, the mental scars were another question all together and there had been times during Joonmyeon’s absence that Yifan had plummeted down into the depths of a deep and dark depression that was extremely painful to have to bare witness too. But Luhan had decided to not dwell on the bad thoughts today, hopefully with the return of Joonmyeon Kris would continue to pick himself up from the darkness and learn to accept that he could not change the past but he could certainly be in control of the future. 

Luhan was sure that Joonmyeon would know how to heal the broken aspects of Kris, bring Yifan back to the surface and bring the whole family together. Whilst Kyungsoo and his parents did a wonderful job of raising the triplets, it was clear at times that the boys knew they weren’t related and they were at the age where they started to ask questions which were harder to answer. Even Tao’s school drawings of family had started to reflect the fact that he wanted to see his mother more than just at a distance, though Luhan had yet to figure out how Tao knew about that. Kris had given no explanation at the time and had just held the drawing tightly to his chest as he tried not to cry over his precious little babies. Luhan pushed all thoughts of that aside for now however, as he knew that he had a rascal of a nephew to catch before dinner else all hell would break loose at the first available opportunity. 

Looking up into the tree at the bottom of the garden, Luhan could easily spot Kai who was sitting looking quite proud of himself as he munched on an apple and the elder smiled as he shook his head, “My, isn’t that a rather large apple I see sitting in the tree? I wonder if he’ll fall down and hurt himself.” 

“No way!” Kai called back, shaking his head, “I’ll never fall from this tree! It’s my tree and I can climb it all that I want.” 

“Really now? I thought this belonged to your Aunty Hyuna?” Luhan tried to coax the boy down, knowing it was best to distract him with slightly complicated questions. 

Kai pouted, “Well it does… but she lets me climb it whenever I want.” 

Oh, it looked like the twenty questions game wasn’t going to be working today, which was a slight annoyance but something that Luhan was well prepared for. Especially since he had seen Tao and Sehun in the kitchen. “Kai, you do know that your Uncle Soo is letting Tao and Sehun decorate biscuits for Uncle Joonmyeon’s return tonight, don’t you?” 

The little boy blinked in shock, “Taotao and Hunnie are being allowed to decorate biscuits?” his voice was a high pitch of excited squeal and disbelief, “Uncle Soo is allowing them?” 

“Yup, right in the kitchen,” Luhan said in response, keeping his tone neutral for now as it made sense to him, “With the special coloured icing tubes as well.” 

Kai looked devastated for precisely two seconds before swinging himself around and landing nimbly on the floor before rushing towards Luhan with open arms, “Uncle Lu! Kai wants to decorate biscuits with Taotao and Hunnie! Do you think you can make Uncle Soo allow me too?” 

Holding in his laughter, Luhan scooped the small boy up into his arms and snuggled him close, “I’ll certainly see what I can do, little one. Though first I think you’re going to need a quick bit of a cleanup, though knowing you three,” his dark eyes peered towards the kitchen window where a rather suspicious white cloud had just erupted, “I think we may need to clean up all of you at once.” 

Heading inside, Luhan could not help but burst into laughter as he saw that the bottom end of the table where Tao and Sehun had been dutifully decorating biscuits was now covered in a thick layer of white icing sugar courtesy of Baekhyun and Yixing; who had arrived with the statement of helping out only to make a complete mess of things. Both of the little cubs were covered and looked like some kind of adorable ice gem monsters and Luhan couldn’t help but snap a few pictures of them because it was moments like these that were priceless. Sending the pictures on with a few clicks, Luhan scooped up the other two and proclaimed that he was taking them up to be bathed and changed from head to toe, whilst leaving the two elders to their fate with Kyungsoo. 

Today was certainly going to be an interesting one, that much he could be certain of. 

~*~

A blip on his phone brought Kris out of his silent patient waiting at the platform, and carefully he pulled his mobile phone out, half expecting another message from Joonmyeon to enquire where he had gotten his number or something like that but instead allowed a small smile to cross his face, as he realized that it was Luhan sending him some more pictures of his children. A pain clenched through his heart at that notion, the fact stinging that his elder brother spent more time with the three little boys that he had brought into the world than he had ever been able to do, even though part of his soul longed so desperately to be with them. It was a painful feeling, made worse by years of self-enforced separation but Kris had come to understand that mentally and physically he had not been ready to accept the three as his own. 

In fact, it was only over the last eighteen months that he had even began to watch them, to accept photographs of the little trio as well as videos so that he could hear their voices and see how much they had changed. Kris hated himself for not being involved in their lives, for keeping them at bay like this but he knew that if he rushed in then he could only cause more harm than good. Plus, his doctors had only been reducing the suppressants and blockers which affected his natural omega instincts around two years ago and they were still wary about reducing them further. Whilst Kris had certainly made some excellent improvements in the time since the reductions had started, there were still times that he relapsed and acted with the default rejection nature that made it unwise for him to be around any cubs. Which just made it all the more harder to accept. 

Kris knew what had happened to him, had finally accepted that he was not at fault for what happened and that the man who had done those vile acts to him, should have bloody well known better than to take an innocent child who had been prematurely struck with a heat. Kris knew that that man should have taken him to the hospital where they could have treated him better, not actively helped him with the heat in a brutal way that any alpha would have been ashamed of and that he should have done something when it was discovered that he was pregnant. He was nine when it happened, there was no way that anyone but trained medical staff should have helped him at that point and yet he had been dumped in the rain on some random street corner by the man who should have protected him the most during that time. It was a harsh reality and something that Kris did not like to even think about, though he knew that justice had been dealt to the alpha who had committed the horrendous act but he did not want to know any further. He just wanted to try and build his life back to something more normal, something where he felt like he wasn’t being a burden to anyone and make himself feel happy again. 

He hoped and prayed that with Joonmyeon’s arrival, that feeling would come back again. Because even though he had never admitted it, the day that the boy who had become his Guardian had left, Kris had felt as though he had been broken in two. He lost his former self, forgetting how to be soft and gentle with silly little habits and had become a more cold, closed off figure with a new name purely to protect himself from the world. But he knew that Suho could have changed as well, the city did that to a lot of people but at the same time Suho had never failed on his promise to contact him every day and all of his letters were indeed greatly treasured. 

Looking down at the phone again, Kris took a deep breath before opening the pictures that Luhan had sent him and was unable to stop the surprised giggle that came out of his mouth. There were Zitao and Sehun, covered in some kind of white powder, looking completely innocent and like some kind of snow wolves that the kiddies made at Christmas and he couldn’t help but coo at them. “Just…too…cute,” he whispered to himself, practically curling in on himself and wanting to hug the pair because they were just adorable. 

Another picture popped up, this time a selfie of Luhan with Jongin who was yet again pulling a funny face towards the camera but in comparison to his two brothers he was covered in mud, leaves and the odd bit of twigs. A caption read, “One climbs a tree and the other two get covered in icing sugar by our friends. I do wonder what they do with them sometimes, don’t you didi?” 

Before Kris could even stop himself, he had already opened the message window and typed, “Tell whoever is giving them a bath to use the glitter soap slime because it’ll keep all three amused in the water and remember not to pour any conditioner into their ears cause they’re really sensitive. Oh, and if Kai starts to eat the soap, tell him that the frog licked it and he’ll stop.” 

For a second he paused, wondering if it was a good idea to send the message off or not before opting to do so anyway and hurriedly locking the phone so that he would not have to look at the response. Which naturally came five seconds later and was simply, “Ayaye Mama!” 

Deflating a little at the word, Kris shook his head and relocked his phone, glancing back at the tracks where he could see Joonmyeon’s parents waiting for him to arrive. Jessica was out of town for the time being, but she would be back within the next week to visit everyone so that was something to look forward to. Part of Kris’s heart knew that he could just go and sit next to the man and woman who had always been there whenever things got tough but for some reason today, he just couldn’t. Maybe it was just a daft notion inside his head that it was something to do with the way that he had met Joonmyeon, alone on that piece of pavement in the rain with not a single hope left in the entire world or maybe it was something else altogether he did not know or care to understand. 

Mrs. Do had waved to him when she first spotted him and patted the bench next to her if he wanted to come across, she had even left her bag there just in case anyone else wanted to come and sit down but Kris had chosen to wait on the furthest possible bench though he still couldn’t say as to why. Maybe there was some lingering fear in his heart that Joonmyeon wouldn’t be his Suho anymore, that he was fearful for the return of the other because maybe he had read all of the signs wrong for all these years and Suho was just wanting to look out for him after all the bad things that had happened. Kris knew that he was perfectly safe and that he should just man up and head across to the bench to wait with Mrs. Do like she was offering but he was scared. 

Scared of losing again, scared of being left alone, scared of having his worst fear confirmed and that he would be forever just left wallowing in the darkness. Viciously he shook his head, barely able to suppress the thoughts that were lurking there but trying his hardest to do so. He had to focus on the positives, the fact that Suho had text straight back with his funny little emoji’s and did not question who it was who was texting him at this time. The fact that he had kept his promise of sending him stuff every single day that he was away and had even kept his silly little drawings which even Kris did not know why he did anymore. 

Letting out a sigh, Kris glanced across at the fields and felt as though a heavy weight was sitting upon his shoulders. What if he had changed too much for Joonmyeon? He was no longer the little boy who could be called, “My little One,” as Suho had affectionately dubbed him. Kris had grown far taller than anyone had expected, developed strong features that were sharp and yet smoothly sweet when he smiled. He still had black hair though it was worn short these days to fit with school requirements though soon he’d be able to style it anyway that he wanted. Many said that his brown eyes were mysterious to look at, hiding so many emotions away yet always somehow letting through a sadness that made a lot of people try to get close. But Kris kept his cool, tried to keep people away because he just didn’t know how to respond to them anymore. He knew that it was partially due to himself locking away his innermost thoughts but he really couldn’t help it. There were a few people who had gained his trust over the years but it took a long time for it all to fit into place. 

The chimes of an announcement started, causing Kris to flick his pure white ears towards the sound to confirm that the train arriving at Platform Four was indeed the City Train which he had been waiting for and it thundered into view with a slight spray of steam that for a moment covered the station, as if some classic movie scene was being played out. Fear began to grip at Kris again, because what if Suho wasn’t there, what if he wasn’t going to even pay the slightest bit of attention to him and he was just going to be left all alone in the world with no one who would ever help him in the slightest. It was oh so tempting to just turn tail and run at this point, to leave the station and leave all the worries behind because maybe he did not deserve the second chance that he had been longing for. Maybe this was his punishment, maybe this was what he deserved to just be on the outside, to see the world away from the rest of the world and not have to experience the joy and happiness that everyone else got to experience because he had done something so sinful and wrong and he was just disgusting and all the hope that he had was going to be for naught. 

“Yifan?” a voice called quietly from the platform though Kris did not want to believe that he had heard it. Plus, it was just a quiet little sound that could have been anyone saying anything and he was just being a fool and he really needed to run away right now. Get away before he was seen, so that he didn’t disappoint Suho because he knew that he had changed so much and he was sure that he would find him ugly because he was still covered in the filth that had poisoned him so much. 

“Yifan!” the voice was closer, though it really should not have been and Kris felt completely and totally sick now, he was unaware of the fact that he had curled himself up into a tight little ball and was clinging desperately to his hair. Now he could hear running footsteps and he really should have been running by now because there was nothing left for him now, and he shouldn’t listen to the tiny spec of hope that kept on prodding at him with a grim determination that just maybe he was reading everything wrong and that there was nothing truthful in the vile words that he used constantly against himself. 

Suddenly the running feet stopped and for a moment the world just seemed to become hyper real. It was strange to feel a pair of arms wrapping tightly around his form, the momentum of the running person not being quite counted for and causing the pair of them to tumble awkwardly onto the concrete. But the coldness that he usually kept up fell away as Yifan smelt the familiar warming scent that had calmed his raging heart all those years ago, the scent of rain and earth that was now added too with the strong sense of very expensive milky coffee and something that Yifan could barely recognize as being anything that he knew, but he was sure that he would know what it was because Suho would tell him. Opening his teary eyes, Yifan found his whole view being taken in the by the sight of the most handsome alpha he had ever seen in his life. 

Suho was so mature, with beautiful lines and a glimmer to his dark eyes that were now more alluring than they had ever been before and they were just sparkling with so much happiness and life that for a moment Yifan did not recognize the fact that he was the source of it in the slightest. He just found his entire breath being stolen away and that was a fraction of second before he registered the fact that there were lips on his own and he realized that Suho was kissing him. Actually, kissing him though he had no reason to do except just maybe…

Yifan suddenly found himself letting go of all of his inhibitions and throwing away all the negative thoughts that had plagued him for far too long and allowed himself a chance to just exist as his own person. He returned the kiss to Joonmyeon’s lips, even though he hadn’t a clue as to what he was doing and found his arms were wrapping tightly around Joonmyeon as if to confirm that he was there and wasn’t about to disappear with the booming sound of the train that was pulling out of the station to continue its journey on. 

Joonmyeon pulled back, panting a little in surprise but he smiled towards Yifan and placed his hands on either side of his face, “I missed you so much, my little one.” 

Yifan found himself unable to speak as he broke down into tears once again, but this time it was out of sheer relief and joy because Joonmyeon was there, Joonmyeon was still his and even though he did not fully understand how he had marked him at such a young age, he had marked his mate he was just so thankful that Joonmyeon wasn’t going to be leaving him anytime soon. He hugged tightly into Suho’s chest, gripping tightly and feeling a little shameful for covering the others shirt in tears and snot but he got the impression that Suho really did not mind in the slightest about that fact. 

Finally, he was able to pull back and just look at Suho, wipe away his tears and say, “I’m sorry…” 

“What for?” Suho replied, moving his fingers across Yifan’s face with a tenderness that was nearly heartbreaking but for once it did not matter in the slightest. 

“I wasn’t the best at communicating to you even though…I just...” Yifan hiccupped again, trying to stop himself from crying but finding his words cut off when Joonmyeon leant across to capture his lips in another kiss. 

“Don’t worry, I loved all I received and even got teased for having the pictures framed and put on my walls in college,” Suho smiled brightly, laughing at the look of shock that crossed the others face. 

“You did not?” Yifan asked, flushing a bright red, “Oh my god, Suho!” 

“What? I thought they were really cute,” Suho replied, grinning as he hugged Yifan to his chest, “I even brought them home with me in their frames cause they’re going up on the wall no matter what you say.” 

Hiding his face in his hands again, Yifan leaned heavily against Suho and tried his hardest not to unleash some strange sound, which had Suho just laughing lightly at him as he cuddled him gently to his chest. “It’s okay now Yifan, things are going to start being made right and everything will be fine. I can’t promise you that it’ll happen overnight, but I’ll be there every single step of the way.” 

Slowly Yifan pulled back to look at Suho, his eyes reflecting all sorts of emotions as he took a shuddering breath, “Thank you.” 

“I made you a promise, didn’t I?” Joonmyeon said, gently cupping the side of Yifan’s face once again, “And I intend to keep it. We will be a family Yifan, everything will fall into place as it’s supposed to and I’ll help you in every single way possible.” 

Lowering his eyes slightly, Yifan let out a sigh, gripping onto Suho’s arm gently, “You…do you…I mean…the cubs…I…” 

“I know enough,” Suho said, gently reaching to pet the other, “I’m not going to blame you or judge you for what you’ve done because I found you that night and I understand. But we can work on it together, I think that will be for the best, don’t you?” 

Nodding again, Yifan hugged into Suho and let himself just relax in his presence. Yifan figured that Suho would know about his lack of relationship with his cubs, because he was still in contact with everyone, and they would have been updating him on everything that was going on. It was a strange notion still and for a few moments, Yifan did not know what to say or do but then he just sighed and opted to let Suho guide him. Too long he had hidden in his own innermost darkness and it was clear that he would need some form of beacon to bring him back out of it, and Suho was his beacon. It was corny and an overly romantic idea, even Yifan got that but it was the only way that he could describe it and quite frankly it still felt better than giving into the darkness. 

It was going to be a long road to recovery, one that would take time and patience but with Suho by his side, Yifan felt as though he could do anything. If this was what having a mate was all about then he was certainly glad that he had claimed Joonmyeon as his all those years ago, as this feeling of security was something that he felt he could never let go of now that he had it constantly within his grasp. 

A polite cough caught the pairs attention and Mrs. Do smiled at them from where she was half-way leaning down, “Sorry to interrupt but you’re making people worried and will become the internet’s cutest couple if you don’t move on very soon.” 

The two boys blinked and stared around the women, to see in fact that there were several different groups of people who were watching them with a mixture of expressions and a couple of teenage groups who were clearly recording the cutest reunion ever and were probably going to upload it. Yifan blushed a bright red and stood up hurriedly, almost wishing he could disappear and from the expression on Suho’s face he felt the exact same. 

Though two seconds it morphed into surprise as the dark brown eyes blinked, “Whoa! Fanfan! When did you get so tall?” 

Blinking Yifan stared down at Suho and suddenly realized that his main worry for their relationship had not even crossed his mind. During the course of growing up, Yifan had inherited the height from his mother’s side of the family and now stood at six foot two whereas Suho only stood at just about average height of five foot six. The contrast was surprising but also adorable as Mrs. Do cooed at the pair of them which caused more blushing on Yifan’s side. 

However, Suho just chuckled and looped his arms tightly around Yifan’s middle, “Well, we’re sure going to get some funny looks aren’t we, my little one?” 

Somehow, hearing those words out of Suho’s mouth just sort of settled any worries that Yifan had remaining and a slight smile crossed his lips as he looked away. 

Mr. Do chuckled, “Well are we going to stand around here all day, causing a cute scene or are we going to actually head home? I’m sure that Soo is going to be livid if the food he’s cooked goes to waste.” 

Suho grinned, “Oh! Kyungsoo’s famous cooking! I can’t wait to try it.” Suddenly his mind caught up to what Yifan had said and he gently squeezed the other having not removed his arm from around his middle, “You can at least get a lift home with us and then we can have a catch-up meal of our own later? Say tomorrow for lunch? In that funny little café that you used to love, if it’s still there of course.” 

Yifan blinked and shyly nodded, “Yes, it’s there. I really shouldn’t intrude though.” 

“Yifan,” Suho said stubbornly, “I’m not having you walk home or get a bus. You’re coming home with us and my aunt and uncle won’t mind dropping you off in the slightest.” 

Mrs. Do cooed very loudly which made Suho blush and playfully swat at his mother who immediately ran off and the pair merrily chased each other around the car park like they used to do when Joonmyeon was small. Mr. Do turned his eyes towards Yifan, “You are welcome to the party, you do know that right, Yifan?” 

Yifan nodded and swallowed, “Yes. I just…not yet.” 

“Okay, I’ll get lots of photos for you then instead,” Mr. Do smiled, carefully placing his hand on the small of Yifan’s back to guide him forward, “Though I’m sure Luhan will already have a pile of them for you.” 

A slight upturn of the corners of the lips was his reply and together the pair caught up with their mates to get in the car. Yifan was still not sure he could ever fully be around his children but he was sure to start trying because now he had Joonmyeon by his side, there was a new hope in his heart. One that broke through the darkness and allowed him to finally feel free.


	3. Chapter 2 - Bounding with the Cubs

If there’s one thing that Kyungsoo has learnt over the years that he’s been helping to raise the cubs, there are three types of alphas. The first type are those who fall firmly into the stereotypical image of the big, domineering, loudmouth and idiotic alphas who are more interested in strutting about looking as though they have the biggest dominant factor, the best mate and the most precious everything. The ones who spent more time in the office than actually at home and disregarded everyone; unless there was something that could be gained from beating them or they were in need of satisfying their physical needs and they typically regarded their ‘wives’ – never mates – as merely something to produce an worthwhile heir and then a host of pretty sons and daughters to marry off to others like themselves. Thankfully most of those types tended to live in the cities and the few that lingered in the wolf township, never bothered with the likes of homely life so Kyungsoo did not actually know that many of them. 

The second type of alphas were a little more on the respectable side when it came to having mates, as they typically tended to cherish and love their families but at the same time they could be quite demanding and have way too high expectations at times as well. But they were generally the type of men who got good jobs and worked hard to provide for their families so it was understandable that their stress would leak out in other ways. Most alphas fitted into this category out of nothing more than society demands and according to his human pen pal friend, they were very akin as to how most human males acted so it never really worried Kyungsoo much. In fact, his father fitted into this category but was more on the soft and gentle side with a less stressful job and a bit more sensibility in expecting high demands out of everyone. It didn’t mean that Kyungsoo could slack off and get bad grades, but if he was genuinely struggling then he could come to his father for help. The only downside with alphas of this second grouping was that they could be very dismissive of cubs who were not their own blood, ignoring them in favour of their own but it was only about a thirty per cent majority that did such a thing. 

Plus, Kyungsoo got the sneaking suspicion that if his father had ever tried to ignore or dismiss the three precious cubs they were raising on behalf of their nephew, then his mother would have kicked him in the tail so hard that he wouldn’t have been able to sit down for a week. Whilst his mother was a dainty little omega, she packed a solid punch and kick and possessed a devilish side which no one dared to argue with. Kyungsoo had inherited that from his mother and it lead to many people presuming that he wasn’t an omega which was fun in some ways but not in others. 

But his thoughts on that little hiccup in his life were completely driven out of the maroon wolf’s head as he watched Suho play merrily on the grass with Kai and Sehun. The young man was so happy that Suho fell firmly into the third category of alpha wolves, as in the proper Alpha of the pack. The one who could lead, work hard and keep his packmates in perfect line but could also be firmly trusted to run around chasing the cubs all afternoon. They were surprising to look at, coming in all shapes and sizes in human form but you would never dare to cross them because you would be dead in five seconds flat. They cared not only for their mate, whom they were forever loyal to, but for everyone who was part of their family and they preferred to have it so that everyone lived together. Kyungsoo had always scoffed when he heard some of his omega friends talking about these types of alphas, thinking that they were nothing more than mythical creatures from stories of yesterday and those horrendous chick-flick movies that he hated to watch – though secretly indulged in whenever he got the rare opportunity of having the house all to himself which only ever really occurred when the heat season was upon his parents – but now as he watched his elder cousin, he couldn’t help but smile. 

If there was ever an alpha who had more than likely stepped out of a storybook or a film and was completely perfect it had to be Suho. The way he had naturally gravitated to the three cubs, bringing them toys, gifts and soft smiles had melted Kyungsoo’s heart in five seconds. A tiny part of his mind felt jealous that Kris would get such a wonderful Alpha who would take care of him throughout the years and just do everything perfectly for him, but he brushed that jealousy aside. Kris needed someone as fantastic, patient, kind and caring as Suho because their lives were not going to be easy in the slightest. Even though there had been improvements over the years, Kris was still very closed off and disconnected to the world, only occasionally coming out of his shell and even then it was a blink and miss it situation. 

There was not just the mental trauma that Kris still dealt with after the incident, there was the physical side of it too as Kyungsoo knew that Kris had to take special medication in order to stop his heats and his scent as his young body had kept on bringing them into force even after the birth of his cubs. Now that he was at an age where his hormones should have been settled down, Kris was going to be taken off the medication to see if his heats were more normal and regular. The doctor had been reluctant to do such a thing, until Kyungsoo, who had gone alone with Kris on that particular day, had mentioned on Kris’s behalf that his potential mate would be returning to their home town soon and the doctor had said that she’d run a full medical check to ensure that everything was progressing as it should be, before taking Kris off the medication. 

Kris had been very quiet on the drive home, so Kyungsoo in an attempt to make the elder omega cheer up, had taken him for ice cream and bubble tea. It had been a nice little hour for the two omegas as they had just talked about pointless things and pretended that there was nothing wrong in the world. That they just had normal lives that weren’t filled with conflicting emotions and other confusing matters that generally annoyed everyone around them. 

Kyungsoo shook his head, breaking off from the train of thoughts when he saw that Suho allowed Kai to take him down in a mock fight only to sneak up behind the young omega and tackle him in a sneak tickle attack which had the boy laughing loudly. The pair were covered head to foot in grass stains and Kyungsoo knew that he couldn’t sit around and do nothing for much longer. “Suho! I just gave him a bath not an couple of hours ago! Look at the state of you two.” 

Suho laughed at the expression that Kyungsoo was pulling, hoisting Kai into the air to make the youngster squeal happily, “Oh stop complaining, Soo, kids are supposed to be covered in mud and dirt. It’s perfectly natural.” 

Kyungsoo shook his head again, “You won’t be saying that when you’re the one trying to give him a bath later on.” 

“Hey, how come I have to give him a bath?” Suho responded playfully, tugging Kai down into a bear hug to ruffle his hair, “I’m the one whose just returned home!” 

“Yeah and you’ve got off lightly with the fun and games, you little twerp, so it’s your turn to play Daddy,” Luhan said as he passed by, a cheeky smirk that was almost a challenge on his lips which immediately had Suho grinning like mad. Within seconds the two supposedly grown up alphas were tumbling on the grass like two cubs and making an absolute embarrassing scene out of themselves but no one really cared. 

It was pretty hard to considering that it was a nice sunny evening, there was plenty of food available and just a pleasant atmosphere in the garden that had everyone enjoying themselves. Sure Suho was being a little on the silly side, but practically everyone agreed that he did have a right to as he was meeting up with old friends and family, as well as getting himself equated with the newer members of the pack and it was clear that he had taken quite the shine to them. Of course, he had watched them grow up, his aunt had sent him just as many pictures as Kyungsoo did and he felt like he knew all three so intimately that he was a bit surprised that Sehun and Tao shied away from him but Luhan had brushed it off, saying that they were usually like that with strange people. 

Kai didn’t care, if he could get a game out of someone then he’d play regardless so that at least gave Suho some semblance of hope. 

Finally the two grown up alphas tired of their game; mainly because Suho kept on pinning Luhan firmly to the ground and refusing to let him up until Kai cheated and stepped in to tackle Suho, which would just start them off again, and they pulled each other up with silly grins on their faces before exchanging a deep and heartfelt hug between themselves. 

“Finally able to beat me eh? Little twerp,” Luhan grinned, shaking his head slightly to get rid of the blades of grass that had clung to his hair. 

“I could always beat you Luhan, you just never had the pride to admit it,” Suho grinned casually back, dusting himself down and looking around the elder. “Oh, I take it Kris didn’t want to come?” he asked quietly a little disappointed, not wanting to disturb the happiness of the others around them. 

Kris had come back home in the car with him as he had requested, their clasped hands never leaving one another as they remained together in the back seat. But when they had reached their street, Kris had asked to be dropped off at the end and Suho’s uncle had obliged, telling him to be safe. Suho had tried to ask why and go with Kris, but the tall omega had just shaken his head, lightly kissed his lips and said that he would see him later on. 

Luhan shifted a little on his feet before letting out a sigh, “He’s not ready for this kind of thing yet. Plus with the cubs...don’t worry about it tonight. Just have fun and make sure you bond with all three of them.” 

Suho nodded, “I intend to, as much as I can. Do you know where Sehun and Tao are?” 

“Probably in the Wendy house down the bottom of the garden, next to the apple tree,” Luhan smiled, pointing to the area, “Though you may want to take some treats across to them cause they’re both quite shy little things.”

Nodding his head, Suho glanced towards the table that was overflowing with food, and then towards Kai with a thoughtful expression before opting not to pay the least bit of attention to whatever the youngster would suggest because he had a look in his eyes that suggested mischief and mayhem. He would have to take a guess and see what he could do to get the cubs attention though he had already spotted someone who could easily help him. It was just a case of convincing Kyungsoo to open the treats, but there again there was already someone staring at him with pleading eyes from across the table and his younger cousin was blindly ignoring it.

Feeling bold, Suho walked up to Kyungsoo and tapped him on the shoulder, “What’s the best treats to get into Sehun and Tao’s good graces?” 

Blinking in surprise, Kyungsoo paused as he thought about the question before making a silent “follow me” signal and heading back into the kitchen. Whilst Suho distracted some distant relative who only ever put in an appearance once a year to remind everyone that they were still present and somehow relevant to the family, Kyungsoo carefully fetched a stool to reach up to the cupboard above the sink and pulled out a large biscuit tin that was fairly battered but still had an all too familiar decoration to it.   
The tin was shaped like a cute polar bear with a red and yellow scarf and it did not take two seconds for Suho to recognize it with delight. He recalled easily how he had saved up all of his pocket money for two months in order to buy the box of Christmas themed biscuits for Yifan, because he had been under the impression that Yifan wouldn’t get any Christmas Presents that year, even though he had Luhan and his mother who were going to spoil him rotten. However Yifan had taken one look at the box, which hadn’t been wrapped because an young Suho did not understand the meaning of shopping in advance and had dragged his poor mother through every last shop in order to find it, and immediately fallen in love with it. 

It had taken the pair, well trio because Luhan had eventually been allowed his share, no longer than twenty minutes to devour all the biscuits inside of it and then Yifan had kept the box as a keep sake. He had used it for storing his homemade treats in, and would bring it out with a grand smile on his face because Suho was always surprised that he actually kept the metal tin. For a moment Suho completely forgot himself and snatched the tin out of Kyungsoo’s hands in order to hug it tightly to his chest. His younger cousin merely rolled his eyes at him though, playfully batting the elders arm with a long suffering sigh, “Honestly! You two are going to be the most gross couple on the entire planet if you keep on going like this.” 

“I don’t know what you mean, Soo,” Suho grinned back.

“Whose being gross and freaking you out now, Soo?” a new voice joined the conversation as Baekhyun wandered into the small space with a wide smile, his hair fluffed up just ever so perfectly and his eyes alight with good natured humour. His wide eyes wandered from a distraught looking Kyungsoo to Suho and in a second he had made a face. “Ugh, god, they so are,” he stated before suddenly leaping forward to tackle hug Suho with a squeal that would have put most fan girls to shame, “So so cute! I just want to put them into a box together and make them kiss! I’m totally going to be the one organising your mating ceremony and I don’t care what old beanstalk says, he’s having one regardless and...” 

“Whoa, hey calm down Baekhyun,” Suho replied, petting the tan coloured wolf ears his friend possessed, “We’ve got quite a way to go before all of that and right now I’m on a mission.” 

Baekhyun blinked and immediately switched back his personality to a sassy diva with a drawn out expression that was naturally highlighted by his thick eyeliner. No one was quite sure if Baekhyun just opted to switch between these two personalities, or if he had some kind of condition that triggered him into doing so but after a time everyone came to just accept that this was how Baekhyun was. “You are seriously not going to try and woo him with biscuits are you, because that is so corny and downright cheesy that I’m going to throw up if you even attempt it.” 

“I’m actually trying to connect with my future cubs,” Suho stated back towards the other with a grin, “Soo is helping me by getting them some treats, I’m just so happy that they’re in the same tin that Kris used to keep the special treats in for me.”   
“Oh,” Baekhyun blinked and actually made a small o shape with his mouth, “Right, okay...still gross but yeah...err...oh Yixing! Let me help you with that.” 

Kyungsoo’s eyes opened in fright as Baekhyun took off at a sharp speed towards Yixing who appeared to be moving something and hurriedly the smaller man leapt down off the stool to go rushing after the pair. Not before hurriedly saying, “Give them two each and keep two in reserve for Kai otherwise he’ll end up throwing a tantrum, and that’s the last thing that we need. If they ask you where you go them tell them it’s the...No! Put that down you two! It’s perfectly fine where it is!” 

Looking away from Kyungsoo and his two friends, Suho instead carefully opened the tin to find held inside were three cellophane bags that held different flavoured cookies. Carefully written on the front of each one was a name and a description of the flavour. Sehun had chocolate and cream, Kai had green tea with white chocolate chips and Tao, though his name was written in full as Zitao which made Suho smile all the more, had strawberry and cream cookies. The smell was wonderful and for a second Suho was very tempted to try one but seeing that there was only a small selection of cookies in each packet he figured that would be a bit unfair. 

Taking a plate from the shelf, Suho arranged the two sets of cookies as he had been instructed and added on two extra for Kai should he happen to run into the little cheeky scamp, though he was surprised that the triplets hadn’t come running when they would have inevitably heard the tin opening. There again with so much going on in the garden, they were probably just being too distracted. Placing the tin back in the cupboard, finding his smile growing all the more because there were a couple of other cellophane packets with his and Luhan’s name written on them as well hidden on the same shelf, the alpha took a deep breath and headed back out into the garden. 

Thankfully he wasn’t waylaid too much this time as everyone was beginning to settle down into their familiar groups to talk about whatever took their fancy, and fill their stomachs with yet more food. Plus from the smiles that he was receiving, many of the guests had figured out just what he was going to attempt to do so they were being kind and letting him go at his own pace. His Aunt had said that he should approach the pair carefully as they got shy and nervous around people, but one look from Suho had silenced any of the usual advice that could be given because he had a very proven track record of being able to talk to even the most reserved of people and wolves. 

The Wendy house at the bottom of the garden was a simple little twelve-foot square house that was painted white, with red window frames and a little red door. On the front of the door was a golden number 12 and a little knocker with even a matching post box as well. The black ears twitched as the alpha approached, clearly able to hear the two little omegas engaged in some game and ducking down carefully, he glanced in through one of the windows to see what they were doing.

Tao was happily sitting on a brown bean bag chair with a large doll in his lap, who was wrapped up in a towel and he was delicately brushing the long strands of hair with a plastic comb with a content little expression on his face. There were a number of dolls clothes scattered around as well as a feeding bottle and a tiny crib which rocked back and forth because Tao kept on knocking it with his elbow, though he did not appear to notice this in the slightest. He was more focused on his doll and it was an endearing sight indeed. 

Sehun meanwhile was playing with a large wooden train, pushing it around the floor and making little choo-choo noises which sounded so adorable as he kept half singing a song which must have been from a kids show before going “Choo-choo” really loudly and then bringing the train to stop at the station, which was the toy box, where he would swap the passengers over. 

The train was filled with bears, dolls, a couple of robots, dinosaurs and a toy car but Sehun talked to each toy as he put it into the box or into the train and knew all of their names too. Though the boy let out a slight start when Tao unexpectedly came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, only to present his startled brother with the doll; who was now all dressed up in a bright pink outfit which made Sehun’s face light up with joy. 

“Taotao! You made her all pretty! Thank you!” Sehun cried, latching an hug to Tao before gently hugging his doll to his chest, “I’m going to make sure that Kai never messes with you again. He’s such a naughty boy, all cause he was mean to his doll and had it taken away. I’m going to put her up top then no one can get to her!” 

Tao stood where he was, looking a little bewildered but happy that Sehun was smiling. It took Suho more than a couple of seconds to realise it was because Sehun hadn’t been looking at Tao when he had spoken, so the boy had no idea what he had just said. His heart clenched a little at that, remembering the almost impossibly tiny cub who had been in his fingers on that dark, stormy night all those years ago and wished that he could turn back the time to understand what Kris had been trying to get out sooner so that Tao may have retained his hearing. 

However the small boy with black hair and white ears suddenly turned to look at him and blinked in surprise as finding an unfamiliar face at the window. Instead of panicking like Suho expected him to, Tao just simply tilted his head one way and then the other before carefully raising his hands in front of himself, “Who are you?” 

Suho smiled and held up the plate of cookies, “I was sent by the Fairies to deliver these to a Taotao and a Sehun?” 

That immediately had Sehun appearing next to his brother, who took one look at the offered cookies before quickly turning and making a sign towards Tao which the other nodded brightly too. Sehun rushed forward to open the door and stepped out, looking at Suho with interest before frowning, “You’re not really from the fairies, are you?” 

Raising an eyebrow in question, Suho stared at the youngster, “Of course I am.” 

“Where’s your wings then?” Sehun said, sounding a little bratty but his eyes kept lingering on the cookies. 

Suho smiled, wanting to chuckle, “Ah that would be telling. Wings don’t always have to be visible for them to be there.” 

“That makes no sense,” Sehun said, standing his ground for the time being though his eyes were firmly on the plate of treats. “All fairies have wings and...ow!” 

Tao had stepped next to his brother and lightly pinched his ear in order to get him to stop talking before looking up at Suho again with knowing eyes. “How did you get Uncle Kyungsoo to give you those?” he asked, his hands moving a little slower as if he almost sense that Suho wasn’t that good at sign language. 

Or maybe he always automatically slowed it down whenever he met someone new, that was something that Suho would certainly have to learn. 

Sehun however was kind enough to translate and Suho laughed a little, “Aww, how did you rumble me so quickly?” 

“Because Mummy always says that they’re cookies from the Dragon Kingdom and not the land of fairies,” Tao supplied again, though Sehun changed the word Mummy to Dragon Queen, “Who are you?” 

“I’m Joonmyeon, your cousin whose just come back from the city,” Suho replied, smiling at the pair, “But you can call me Suho, if you like. Everyone else does.” 

“Oh! You’re the one who Uncle Soo has been getting excited for the return of,” Sehun said and then clambered forward, looking at him intently, “Though I don’t see the spot.” 

“Spot?” Suho asked, completely confused. 

Sehun nodded, “Uncle Soo said that you have a spot on the end of your nose and it’s not there.” 

For a few more seconds Suho was completely confused as to what the youngster could be talking about and then his memory clicked in. A glare was sent Kyungsoo’s way as the younger approached but he just smiled lightly and waved back before ducking to the first available table. Suho had long wished that the whole spot incident had been forgotten about but apparently Kyungsoo was going to keep bringing it up for the rest of his life. 

Right now he wasn’t going to think about it though, he had the cubs attention and that was a good start. “Don’t worry about the spot, Sehun, it’s Uncle Soo’s little joke and I’ll get him back later for it. Now do you want these fairy...I mean...dragon cookies?”

“Yes please!” Sehun said, bowing and holding his hand out for the plate whilst Tao made a sign of ‘Thank you’ before taking hold of one of his cookies. 

“Yah!” a loud voice rang out and suddenly Suho found himself half toppling forward when Kai lunged at him, “how come you get to give out Dragon Cookies to Hunnie and Taotao but don’t have any for me!” 

Suho managed to just stop himself from toppling over and was glad that the plate was safely in the hands of Sehun otherwise the cookies would have presumably tumbled down onto the grass which would have not been good for anyone in the slightest. Sehun pouted towards his brother, “Kai is being a big meanie to Mister. Suho so he doesn’t get his.” 

“Ah, hey no fair,” Kai replied back, looking annoyed, “you and Tao got yours.” 

“Yes because we’re good boys and don’t go pushing people around,” Sehun snapped back, “That means no dragon cookie for you.” 

“But I want my cookie,” Kai started, looking to be on the verge of tears whilst Sehun just looked furious, and Tao looked as though he couldn’t figure out what was going on in the slightest. Really Suho did not know either but he figured as strictly speaking he was the adult in charge he was going to have to be the one who was going to sort it out. 

Thankfully he had dealt with Kyungsoo when he was being a total brat a million times worse than Kai and from the videos that had been sent his way occasionally, he knew that the little omega who pretended to be an alpha most of the time had a perfect, exploitable soft spot. “Well if you do want your cookie Kai, then you’re going to have to do something to earn it first.” 

“Earn it?” Kai asked, looking bewildered, “But I always get Dragon Cookies….they’re the best cookies in the whole wide world.” 

“Oh I don’t doubt it,” Suho replied, still wanting desperately to try one of the cookies because he was sure that they would be delicious, and plus he was just a little envious of the fact that his boys had gotten to try their mothers cooking before he could do such a thing. “But like Tao and Sehun said, only good boys get the dragon cookies and I’ve heard tales that you haven’t been a good boy recently.”

Kai paled and blinked, “What do you mean, mister?” 

Suho smiled, “Well when I came to deliver the cookies, I heard that you had messed up Sehun’s doll because yours was taken away from you?” 

A little gasp escaped from Kai as he stepped back from Suho, looking down ashamed not a moment later, “I didn’t mean to mess her up! I just wanted to play with her but she’s so different from my doll that I got a little frustrated and I was going to put her back together again but Sehun was coming and I didn’t want him to be upset and mad with me cause I don’t like it and…” 

Sehun stepped towards his brother, “Nini could have just asked to borrow my doll. I would have shown you where everything was.”

Kai blinked and looked at his youngest brother, “But you were napping at the time and I couldn’t wake you.” 

“I wouldn’t have minded for that,” Sehun smiled, shaking his head, “You know I don’t hit as hard as you or Tao.” 

Flattening his dark brown ears, Kai still looked upset, “I know but still…I’m sorry Hunnie. I shouldn’t have played with your doll and left her in that state.” 

A sudden squeak came from Kai, who turned to find Tao standing just behind him with a concentrated look on his face as if he were pondering something. Kai managed to look small and scared for a few seconds before his eyes lit up when Tao offered him one cookie from the plate which had been passed to Suho but he still lightly flicked the boys forehead with his fingers, “Nini can have one cookie for now cause me and Sehun have had one but he must play with us nicely for the rest of the afternoon to get the other cookie before bedtime. That okay, little brother?” 

Kai nodded as he hugged the cookie to his chest and grinned cheekily, “Thank you Tao! Thank you, Mister!” he chomped into the green tea cookie with relish and was clearly more than satisfied with its flavour, “But don’t call me little! I’ll be bigger than you one day, just you wait.” 

Chuckling a little at the trio, Suho couldn’t help but feel his heart melt a little as he watched the brothers interact. It was so easy to pick out the traits which they had gotten from Yifan, they were all so caring and loving but with a side that was quite unexpected, and would probably lead to yet more trouble as they got older but for Suho he could only hope that he’d be there to witness all of that glorious time. Sure, he was going to complain about it because bratty, hormonal teenagers were a pain in the neck cause hell he had been one indeed, but in his heart, he already knew that every last second he could be with these adorable cubs was completely and totally precious indeed. 

“So you three, since I’ve delivered your Dragon Cookies and you’ve all been good boys and eaten them, how about you tell me something about yourselves hmm?” Suho asked, hoping his little ploy would work out for the best, “Because if I’m going to be around here often I’m going to have to get to know you three pretty quick so I can play as many games as you like with you.” 

Kai blinked, “Do we get to ask you questions in return?” 

“Yes,” Suho said smiling sweetly. 

“About anything?” Sehun asked next, his eyes wide, “And you’ll respond truthfully to them all?” 

Suho nodded again, innocently not realizing where this conversation could go in the slightest but it was all one very long learning curve that he would have to go through. But for now, throwing himself into the deep end was probably an unwise choice, though he did not know that he had already done so. “Yup, anything you want to know excluding anything too grown up of course because there are some things that only your…close family should tell you about,” Suho just caught himself before accidentally saying ‘Mother’ or ‘Father’ because he wasn’t entirely sure if the cubs knew about all of that situation yet and it would be just a little too heavy for a first time meeting. 

Tao blinked, “Is your sign language good, Mister Suho?” 

“I’m learning, but I’m not too brilliant at it yet,” Suho replied honestly, once Kai took his turn to translate but he smiled towards the boy, “However your brothers have me covered so that should all be fine.” 

The triplets shared a knowing look between them before they all nodded to one another and then turned to look back at Suho once again. Sehun grinned, “Okay, you can start your twenty questions game with us Mister. Suho.” 

“Please cause me Uncle, Mister sounds like I’m an old man,” Suho said, grinning back still completely unaware of what he was about to get dragged into. 

“You are an old man,” Kai said cheekily, just ducking out of a swipe that came from Sehun and sticking his tongue out towards the other whilst making a bleh sound, but returned his interest to Suho who was chuckling. 

“I’m not that old, little one,” Suho said and ruffled Kai’s hair to annoy him ever so slightly, “But anyway. Let’s begin. What are your full names and whose the eldest out of the three of you?” 

Sehun grinned brightly, “That’s easy, Zitao is the eldest but he is nicknamed Tao by everyone, then it’s Jongin or Kai as the grownups call him but we call him Nini as well and then there’s me Sehun, I’m the baby and I get Hunnie but only by my hyungs.”   
Tao let out a sound which could be counted as a laugh, before signing, “Everyone calls him Hunnie though cause he’s the cutest one out of us three.” 

Suho smiled, “Ha, that makes sense.” 

“So Uncle Suho, what’s your name and how old are you?” Kai asked, ignoring his brothers who were playfully squabbling over the ‘Hunnie’ name. 

Suho smiled, “Well my real name is Joonmyeon but I got given the nickname Suho when I was young so everyone uses it all of the time. I’m twenty-one in a few weeks’ time.” 

“Wow, you really are old,” Kai said and it took all of Suho’s mental strength to not chide the youngster in front of him because he had to remember the fact that he was still young and innocent, “Though not as old as Aunty Hyuna and Uncle Kyuhyun, they’re really really old.” 

Opening his mouth to argue, Suho opted against it because really it was a truth just one that was better not being overly broadcast about in terms of his aunt and uncle. “Right, so for my next question, which school do you boys attend?”

“SM Academy Juniors,” Kai replied, “We’re the top ranked students in our year.” 

“Not quite,” Sehun said, “Academically there’s a girl who beats us all the time but she’s super super smart and it’d take someone with a bigger brain to beat her. Though we can beat her in clubs activities, we’re the best there.” 

“Oh, what do you do for after school clubs?” Suho asked, forgetting that really it should be the cubs turn to ask a question right now but details. 

“Me and Nini do Dance classes and Tao goes to his wushu,” Sehun continued on, grinning brightly, “It’s the only time he’ll wear his hearing aid though cause then he can hear the instructors if they’re moving around or if he’s in the middle of a fight.”

Suho blinked and turned to Tao, “You do wushu?” 

In reply Tao nodded, “Yes. I should be moving up to the intermediate class soon.” 

That thought made Suho’s chest swell with pride, whilst he had never been one to really do any form of martial art outside of school to know that the little nine year old cub was already moving onto the intermediate class was a very good sign indeed.

Kai grinned, “You should have been there months ago but they wouldn’t let you because of your age, Taotao! Me and Sehun are going in for a dance competition soon, Uncle Suho, you’ll have to come and cheer us on.” 

“Dance competition?” Suho asked, blinking at the two boys. 

“There’s a reason they’re called Dance Machines, Suho,” Aunt Hyuna called from a nearby table, “You’ll have to go to practice with them one night after school since they don’t allow recordings of it. You’ll be amazed by them.” 

Waving his thanks, Suho smiled back at the trio, “Now that does indeed sound all very good and fun. I look forward to seeing it.” 

Tao nodded and pondered for a few seconds about how to phrase his question before Sehun translated it for him, “Tao wants to know what you do for a grown up life.”

Suho smiled, “Well until recently I was studying at university in the big city many miles from here but now that I’ve finished I’ve returned home so that I can take up a job here in the local law firm and set about sorting out my adult life.” 

“In what way?” Tao asked, looking very curious once again. 

A soft sigh escaped his lips, “Well I came back to help someone very special to me and I hope that I’ll be able to take them as a mate and start a family together.” 

“Like Prince Charming?” Sehun asked, his eyes all big, wide and innocent with his interpretation of adult life still being very much stuck in the realm of Disney which was perfectly acceptable for a eleven year old by Suho’s standards. 

He nodded in response, “Sort of. Just I don’t have a big castle, or a huge bank account with lots of money stored away and no access to fairy godmothers either unfortunately.” 

“But you’re going to work hard and make everything like that for your mate at some point, yes?” Kai asked, his demeanor dropping a little to make him appear more smaller and gentle. He looked adorable like this, so sweet and tender and clearly in need of some care for his little heart which made the cute nickname Nini fall right into place in the adults head. 

Smiling contently, Suho nodded his head, “Oh yes, I plan on doing that very much because I want my mate to be happy and able to do whatever he wants with his…” 

Suho’s words were cut off as Tao suddenly appeared in front of his face, eyes even more wider, sparkling and innocent looking than what Sehun’s and Kai’s had appeared before but there was a look in them that sparked a mixture of wonder and worry straight into Joonmyeon’s heart. The look that Tao was giving him reminded him so much of the times when Yifan had looked at him with a very similar expression as if he didn’t quite believe that was he was seeing was real. Tao was saying something in sign language but his hands were moving so fast that Suho could barely keep up and neither could Sehun from the confused expression on his face. 

Kai stepped up to pull Tao back a little bit, frowning at his brother with an sudden mature look about him, “Zitao, don’t go jumping to conclusions like that. We don’t even know if Dragon is Mummy or not, we’re only guessing ourselves.” His words were spoken in a little whisper, obviously only meant for Tao to lipread but Suho was close enough to hear the soft whisperings. 

For a second Tao looked heartbroken but then he shook his head and pointed to Suho again, making a sign which even though he had only just started the sign language classes, the elder was able to recognize. 

It was the sign for ‘Father’.

~*~

Whilst the party went on late hours of the night, Suho could generally be found with three young cubs who appeared to be completely enthralled with the elder male. A few of the party guests were a little bit unsure about someone of Suho’s age and status being able to so easily adapt to the presence of the little cubs with an ease that was almost unheard of, but a majority of the most important guests were more than happy to see the interaction. Even during the times when Suho would be called away for a quick meeting with an elder relative who had not seen him in some time or else to speak to someone who could possibly be related to his future work, the cubs would not be far away and would take the first opportunity to latch back onto ‘Susu’ as he was duly nicknamed and drag him away. 

In most cases Suho was very glad of this behaviour indeed, as he was really not one for sitting around in stuffy conversations about how his life should be going. There were many who seemed to be of the opinion that he was going to marry into this family or else that one and that from a business point of view it would be a very sound merger, and sometimes he wished his mother would make a point to tell her relatives that they had moved out of the old rich family model a long time ago. But there again, even trying to remotely explain half of his complicated little life to any of these rich old snobs was going to take some doing. What was worse was that at the end of it they probably wouldn’t even get why he was going to mate with someone who was considered to be a very low status financially, even though Yifan was Joonmyeon’s entire world. 

Taking for example the current distant Uncle he was speaking to, who was involved in some kind of accounting firm who at the ripe old age of forty-five was looking to retire as he had more than enough money to do, as he had apparently played the stock markets right when he was a lad and had made a fortune. There was an unspoken undertone about the fact that he had actually deliberately undercut several sale deals on companies, and then sold them on for an extortionate amount after stripping away all that was valuable. Suho detested the man sitting in front of him because he had always presented himself so well and dignified when in fact he was just a crafty crook in disguise, but if he talked to him at this party then he wouldn’t have to deal with the useless menace for at least another year. 

The man was droning on and on about how he couldn’t decide which of his ten illegitimate sons to leave the running of the company to, as his actual heir was a girl who in his opinion was a waste of space even though she ran the second most successful beauty retail brand in the country and invested nearly all of her profits into charities, and Suho was about to try and think of yet another excuse to get away from the man when one turned up just on time. 

A small hand latched onto his finger and he turned to see a very sleepy looking, but teary eyes Tao and instantly felt his heart break, “Aww, what’s wrong Taotao?” he asked gently, smiling politely towards the now scowling Uncle before scooping the young cub up into his lap and cuddling into him as if he were his own. “Did you fall over or did Kai push you into the wall again?” Suho asked, making sure that Tao could see his lips but from the droopy eyes on the other, it was easy enough to guess what was wrong with the little youngster. “Ah, are you sleepy Taotao? Is it time for you to be going to bed?” 

“Huh, I don’t know why they tolerate such a useless child around here,” his Uncle said snappily towards Tao, glaring at the young boy intently as if he were some kind of smear on the tip of his very expensive shoe. “The other two are charity basket cases, I suppose, but who would ever want to employ a deaf mute I do not know. He’ll be a drain on society by the time he’s a grown up, in fact he’s a drain on society now.” 

Glaring right back at the man, Suho wrapped his arms protectively around the tiny omega in his arms and fought back the urge to raise his hackles and growl. He had to mentally remind himself that this man was cut from the old school cloth, and was therefore an idiot of upbringing who wouldn’t step out of the old lines for fear of being infected with new ideas. But there was nothing to stop him from putting the other alpha firmly back in his place of being out of the times when it came to family and pack dynamics.   
“Well at least he won’t be a snob nosed old man who couldn’t choose between the woman he married and the ten others that he screwed around with. There are more vile grownups in the world who have all of their senses unimpaired and you, Uncle, are certainly joining the mile vile club. How dare you say such things about an innocent little cub who had misfortune thrust upon him, rather than by choice and before you get on your high horse, I don’t care if my eventual adoption of him will bring a bad reputation or anything as old fashioned and stupid to my name because as far as I’m concerned, regardless of his birth this little cub is mine as are the other two; and if you ever dare to say anything harsh and unfair about them in my presence again then I shall do you harm.” 

Standing up, Suho shifted Tao into a more natural holding position and sent one more poignant glare back towards his Uncle, “Family isn’t just defined by blood, it’s defined by love and commitment to one another. If you’d open your eyes to that fact you’d see that you have squandered your real family for nothing more than a fake world of grabbing hands that will do nothing to help you in your old age.” 

The Uncle looked positively murderous but when he rose to stand, Suho somehow managed to look taller and was clearly the more dominant alpha. Still the elder had one more card up his sleeve to pull, “The arrogance of youth is what will land you in very hot water, Joonmyeon, do not forget that there may be a time when you need the help from me and unless you take your unnecessary words back right this second and apologies to me then you can...” 

“Oh Uncle,” Suho shook his head, “The day I would come asking you for any type of help would be the day that Hell becomes a theme park for all ages to enjoy. If you take a look at my work and my life, you’ll find that I have never once asked, begged or used my family contacts to get me anywhere. Half of my facility did not even know who I was until my father came to my Graduation and even then, it was not made a big deal. Now do me a favour and take your old-fashioned prejudices away from my son and go make your own mind up about which one of your illegitimate heirs to run your failing company or better yet, give it over to Jessica who will have it running so smoothly within two years that you’ll never have to even set foot inside the building again. Good day to you Uncle.” 

With that, Suho set off to the opposite side of the garden as far away from the man as possible, where he could see Luhan deftly trying to catch a bratty Sehun who did not want to go to bed without Tao. 

Luhan looked up as he approached, catching hold of the wayward youngster and hoisting him up, “See, Taotao had only gone to Suho. Now stop making such a fuss, it’s way past your bedtime as is and heaven knows how we’re going to get you up in the morning.” 

Sehun wriggled, making grabby hands towards Suho, “Want Susu!” 

“Sehun,” Luhan said with a voice that lacked patience only to find the next second that Suho had carefully looped his arm around the eleven-year-old and it did not take him long to have both boys balanced carefully on his hips. Tao was already practically asleep, lightly sucking on his thumb whereas Sehun simply snuggled up to Suho and tried to pretend that he was not falling asleep in the slightest. 

“Where’s Kai?” Suho asked, glancing around and wondering just how he was going to carry three youngsters all in one go because he was fairly certain that would be a push too far. 

Luhan smiled, “Little terraway is already in bed. Come on, they sleep up here.” 

Nodding Suho followed Luhan into the house and was personally thankful to be able to get away from some of the accusing stares, though he couldn’t help but let out a cheeky little giggle as they were half way up the stairs because now that he thought about it, the look on his uncle’s face had been priceless. 

Thankfully the other alpha male grinned just as broadly back, “Did it feel good to put that old curmudgeon back in his place?” 

“It felt very good,” Suho replied with a smile, “Though I think Aunty will be having words with me later.” 

“Ha, she’ll more than likely be congratulating you on putting that old geezer where he should be,” Luhan said, pausing so that he could run his fingers through Tao’s thick black hair, “Fancy saying our little Taotao is worthless? I’m sure he could probably run the company better than any of that man’s offspring with the exception of Jessica of course.” 

Suho nodded, “That I don’t doubt. I’m not worried about my little Tao, I’m sure that he’ll be able to do whatever he wants to do in the future, and he’ll be one of the best at it.”   
For a few seconds Luhan was silent, simply staring at the other alpha with a look that did not quite betray his emotions at first until a very happy smile crossed his face. “Well, if I didn’t already know that you were Yifan’s mate, I think my fears would have been sealed and sorted just this very second.” 

A frown rippled across Suho’s face for a moment as he regarded his friend, “What do you mean by that?” 

“You’ve just said ‘My Tao’,” Luhan smiled, “It means you see them as your own already.” 

Rolling his eyes skyward, Suho couldn’t help but let out a disgruntled sound towards his friend, “Well of course. What do you take me for? Some idiot who would only accept the mother but not the cubs? I went out in that rain storm to find them and I kept them safe, you should have known then that I would never even dream of saying they weren’t mine.” 

If the other’s arms hadn’t been filled with two sleepy cubs then Luhan would have given the other alpha a push for his remark, though he did give the door to the boy’s room a harder than necessary push just to get rid of the wanting feeling. “Oh hush, just you wait until this lot start finding future partners and potential mates and see how your hormones react then, Mister Daddy.” 

“Shush,” Suho hissed quietly towards Luhan though he was trying not to burst out into joyful laughter right now, “You’ll wake them up.” 

“Trust me, they wouldn’t wake up even if a thunderstorm was happening,” Luhan said, shifting to take hold of Tao so that Suho was only left with Sehun in his arms. “Now you can deal with putting Sehun to bed whilst I sort Tao out. He gets a bit fussy when he’s sleepy and its best we train you with the easiest one. Though, strangely tonight it was Kai seeing as the little devil is already off to the sleepy land express by the looks of things.” 

Glancing over at the third cub who had been missing for the better part of an hour, Suho couldn’t help the smile that came across his face. Laying in his own bed, cuddled up around a brown poodle toy was little Jongin. He was dressed in a pair of Transformers pajamas and his unruly brown hair had been carefully brushed so that it would hopefully not be too much of a wreck in the morning. From the rise and fall of the little one’s chest, it was easy to see that he was fast asleep and would probably not be surfacing anytime soon which was probably a very good thing indeed. 

Turning to look back at Sehun, Suho smiled gently and tapped the boy on his nose, “Now, little one, let’s get you ready for bed, hmm?” 

Sehun nodded sleepily and Suho took a moment to glance around the room. It was a simple enough design, maybe a bit on the cramped side for three young boys but that would hopefully change in the next few years. Three of the four walls had been turned into separate areas with a bed pushed up against each one, which had its own little table at the end which held a nightlight. To the right of each bed were a set of drawers which were presumably to house the boy’s clothes and different pictures, posters and shelves were set above the beds with personal little quirks and preferences in place. 

Kai had a very boy’s theme to his collection of posters with super heroes, fighting robots and sports taking up a majority of his space though if one were to look closely, they would notice that his lamp was actually a Totoro themed one and his bed sheets were pink and white. There were a several figurines of heroic men who were positioned to fight some huge monster looking robot and an old t-rex figure which had been painted bright pink and given a pretty bow. A selection of Monster High dolls were on top of his dresser, all of them immaculately kept and presented though there was a small jewellery box at the end which presumably held more outfits for the dolls that were kept on display. 

Tao’s side of the room looked to be a little more grown up, with books filling most of the shelves though in the gloom from the night lights Suho couldn’t read the spines to find out what sort of books that the youngster was into. There was a selection of Lego figures along the top shelf and a corner of a box peaked out from underneath the bed which showed some large Lego building project that was in the process of being finished off. Sitting on top of Tao’s drawer unit were a collection of Sylviannan Families dolls and two baby dolls who had been left without clothing but probably due to the excitement of the day. 

Sehun’s selection was a little more quiet in terms of what was on display, but it didn’t stop it from being just as fascinating to Suho. There were a selection of little pots along his chest of drawers which had words along the line of ‘Sunflower’, ‘Moonflower’ and ‘Cactus’ on them and in-between each one was a small little watering can and some plant feed. On his shelves were a couple of books, some crayons and arts related items and just above his bed was a childish drawing of what Suho could only presume to be his family. It was fairly big, the people in it were a mixture of blocks and circles and a closer inspection revealed that it was actually perspective building with markers for where different people were going to be, there was even the beginnings of outlines as well and Suho couldn’t help but think that maybe Sehun had that extra little bit of artistic talent that Yifan lacked. Not that he would ever say that sort of thing to his mate of course but it was nice to notice every once in a while. There was a Pororo doll on the bed and Sehun sleepily reached for it as it was clear he was about to fall asleep. 

“Whoa, hey, not just yet Hunnie,” Suho said, catching the boy and looking down at him, “We need to get you into your pajamas first.” 

Sehun pouted but allowed Suho to take off his shirt and shoes before hopping lightly down to fetch the ones he wanted as Suho apparently picked the wrong pair out of the small pile and then sat back down. Once the Pororo top was on, Sehun sorted out his bottoms and dug out a little cap from under his pillow which he pulled onto his head. For a second Suho was tempted to grab the edge and pull it down over the boy’s face, but Sehun yawned and made grabby motions towards him so instead he gave the boy a hug. “There, you ready to go to sleep now, Sehun?” 

Nodding his head, Sehun allowed himself to be picked up whilst Suho gently pulled back the covers and set the boy down on the pillows. “Goodnight Hunnie,” he said softly, making sure that the boy had his Pororo doll snuggled against his side before pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead and letting the boy settle down. “Night...Ap...pa...” Sehun replied quietly, the last word really too faint for any of them to hear but both alphas knew what had been said. 

Feeling his heart swell, Suho moved across to Kai to check that the youngster was fine and safely in the land of dreams before pressing a kiss to his temple as well, “Nanight Nini, pleasant dreams.” A light hum was his response and Suho smiled before carefully moving away. 

Tao was sitting up in bed, unlike the other two he wore a nightgown but Suho was not going to get fussed by such things, because in his collection he did have photographs of Yifan in a nightgown and a couple of summer dresses too. He also had ones of Kyungsoo in them too, though granted that was a bit easier seeing as his cousin had refused to wear anything but frilly dresses until the age of eight when he became aware that most omegas tended to dress after their physical gender when dealing with humans. Some silly human notion about it being wrong for little boys to be wearing dresses and skirts, when in fact it was perfectly natural for omegas to want to look pretty and dress up. Wolves did not care overly much about how someone chose to dress, it was just an extension of their personality and nothing more. In fact, Suho thought that Kyungsoo actually looked pretty good in female clothes. 

He hadn’t seen Yifan in a dress for a long while and couldn’t really imagine it happening anytime soon, but if his mate ever wanted to wear one or something that was more female orientated he wouldn’t complain in the slightest. It also made him think of the time when he had mistaken Luhan to be an omega when one day, the football mad boy had turned up in an adorable fluffy dress complete with ribbons and bows. Suho had mollycoddled him for finally coming out as an omega and then had his butt kicked all around the house because Luhan was an alpha and there was no denying it. 

It turned out that Luhan had been trying to convince Yifan that no one cared about what you wore because no one could deny your true status and saying that it had gone really rather badly in terms of sorting that little argument out was an understatement.   
However, Tao looked cute in his nightgown and Suho embraced him happily before pulling back. 

“Thank you,” Tao signed to him, smiling brightly through it was clear that he was about to pass out from exhaustion. 

“For what?” Suho asked slowly in reply, glad he had picked up a few signs. 

Luhan thankfully translated the next bit, “For telling mean Uncle to stay away.” 

For a second Suho was confused and then realized that with the way that Tao would have been in his arms he would have been able to easily read his lips. A blush crossed his cheeks but he smiled, reaching out to run his hand over the boy’s soft white ears, “I would do it in a heartbeat Tao, no one has the right to say anything like that to you or the others.” 

For a second Tao looked hesitant and looked towards Luhan before getting a determined look on his face, “Did you mean it when you said that you were going to be my Dad?” 

This time Suho was prepared and he nodded slowly, “Yes. I want to be very much.” 

A smile broke across Tao’s lips, “Will you promise to make Mama really happy and come play with us?” 

“How do you...” Suho started before glancing at Luhan who shook his head and mouthed something but Suho couldn’t quite follow the words and instead looked back at Tao. He wanted to know so much, especially seeing as Tao was looking at him in a very determined fashion that was just too sweet. He nodded and placed his fist over his heart, “I promise Tao. It may take a lot of time and you’ll have to be patient, but I want us all to be a big happy family.” 

A sort of high pitched squeal came out of Tao who launched himself forward, wrapping a tight hug around Suho’s neck and squeezing tightly. Even though he didn’t express it with words or signs, Suho knew that the cub was thanking him so profusely right now and that made him feel like he was on top of the world. After a minute or two, he pushed Tao back and gave him a little Eskimo kiss to his nose. “Now it’s sleepy time, Taotao,” Suho said softly, laying the youngster down onto his pillows, “You’ve got to join your brothers in dreamland.” 

Tao nodded his response and smiled, before signing, “Goodnight, Appa.” 

“Goodnight Tao,” Suho said softly, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead and made sure that Tao was all wrapped up in his blankets before raising and lightly heading out of the bedroom with Luhan. 

He saw the question coming a mile off and waited until the door had clicked shut before letting out a little sigh, “I think your brother has been interacting with his cubs without any of you knowing for a long while.” 

A confirmation hum came from the others lips, “It would appear so. However, I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to give Tao what he wants from family life. Secret little meet ups are one thing but I can’t think what Yifan will be like living with you and the cubs.”

“That’s why we’re taking baby steps and not rushing into things,” Suho said softly in reply, “He’s got his hospital appointment tomorrow, right?” 

“Yeah, for the blockers treatment,” Luhan said with a sigh, “They may take him off them soon.” 

Suho nodded, “Good, it’s about time he started having a regular cycle. That will help him out a great deal I’m sure of it.” 

“You’re not thinking of going with him to that, are you?” Luhan asked, eyeing the other alpha up warily. Mate or not, there were some things which still had to be kept private. 

A warning look was sent his way as Suho shook his head, “Hell no. I’m not just going to barge into his private affairs like that. You make me sound like a sex deprived pervert.” 

“Well it was just,” Luhan started but was interrupted by Suho. 

“I plan to surprise him after the clinic with a date to a cafe,” Suho said, rolling his eyes slightly before smiling, “Keep it simple and give us some time alone in a setting that is typical for a first date.” 

About to argue the fact that the other had clearly been watching too many dramas or reading too many soppy romance stories, Luhan instead shut his mouth when he realised that for an first actual date something as simple as going to a cafe would be ideal for Yifan. It wouldn’t be too pressurised and it would just be easy and cute with easy exit options should the others anxiety get too high. 

A groan left Luhan as he started down the stairs, “Lord help me if I start acting like this once I find my mate. I swear you two are already far too damn sweet for your own good and you’ve barely started dating yet! I need to go and watch some football or talk dirty with some alphas or something, you’re love sickness is infectious!” 

Laughing aloud, Suho grinned and started following Luhan down the stairs, determined to annoy the other or else find out if indeed Luhan had his eye on someone or not. There were some aspects of being an alpha that were far too fun and ribbing your fellow alpha friends for their love lives was most certainly one of them.


	4. Chapter 3 - The Secrets that we keep

The scratch of pencil on paper had always been a soothing sound to Yifan, even if he was very much aware that his drawings were not exactly works of art that would be put up in a gallery, they were however calming to him. It was something that one of the child phycologists had gotten him to do, a sort of release for his pent up emotions and whilst sometimes no one could really get the point of what it was that the young cub was trying to express, they praised his artwork and allowed him to keep on doing it. These days Yifan drew when he was waiting to visit Doctor. Minseok, as it was something to pass the time when he couldn’t be bothered with his phone and it kept him focused from the worry about entering the room beyond. He knew fine well that there was nothing in there that was going to hurt him, understood that the tests were to make sure that he was healthy enough so that they could take him off the blockers to allow him to fall into a more natural omega cycle but that still didn’t make it any easier.   
When it had first been suggested to him, Yifan had been terrified of the idea, he didn’t want to have heats because he feared the pain and terror it would bring. He did not want to be at the mercy of some alpha who couldn’t control themselves, having to deal with a stranger who had all sorts of strange ideas about what they wanted to do to pleasure someone and the very notion of using one of the pairing programs was a big no go. The young omega had been reduced to a sobbing mess over the whole idea but the Doctors had tried their best to explain. Thankfully his phycologist knew how to counter this sudden panic attack and had taken him to the office where they talked and explained how the process would work. 

Yifan could barely remember how the conversation had gone but he knew by the end of it he was still highly terrified of it all and once he was home, he had grabbed a pen and written a very long letter to Suho, his Guardian, about everything. He poured all of his emotions into those A4 pieces of paper, every last fear, every last horrible memory that he had of the last time that he had been in heat. He was completely and totally honest in those letters, sparing not a single detail out even though he had been crying constantly throughout the whole process of writing it out. 

It had taken him the better part of an hour to write them out, but it felt like a mere thirty seconds to Yifan because it was just in a constant scrawl over twelve double sided sheets of A4 paper and he found himself panting once it was all done. For a long while after he had just sat at his desk, ignoring the soft knocking on his door from his mother and brother with occasional little calls to let them know that he was not about to do anything stupid. 

In fact, whilst he had been recovering from the attack, he had reached for the medical book which he had purchased two years ago after watching a documentary on TV about omega’s who were struck with early heats. It had been an accidental watch, something that he had found in the middle of the night when he was being plagued by nightmares and unable to sleep so rather than wake Luhan who had to get up early in the morning for work, he had just gone downstairs, cuddled himself into the sofa and flicked the TV on. The documentary was a little slow paced and patronizing in some aspects, but it was a revelation to Yifan that there were others like himself out there. Other omegas who had been struck down with a heat at a very young age and whilst it was rare, it wasn’t unheard of. 

In humans, the condition was called precocious puberty and was caused by a problem in the brain due to a tumor or a reaction to radiotherapy or a problem with the ovaries. For omegas, it was virtually the same but the trigger was put down to a strong connection with the inner wolf or else a defection in the womb where for a brief time another cub had been connected to the affected omega. Sometimes joint births were possible or if the pups were connected to each other during birth but one died, then the surviving one would absorbed the fetus to sustain itself. Yifan had been able to find out that his cause had been due to the latter explanation, as a small lump had been removed from his womb when they were treating him for the back-street cesarean which had been performed on him terribly, and it had been identified as the remains of a fetus. 

At the end of the show, he had taken down the details of the book that all of the information was based off and after pouring out the details in the letter he had read it through from cover to cover to ground himself in reality. What had happened to him shouldn’t have happened, Yifan knew that anyone with half a brain would have immediately rushed the tiny omega to a doctor’s surgery or called for the ambulance service, but there were some things in the past that could not be altered. Yifan had wanted to know all about his condition and what it could potentially lead to and what it would mean as well for the future but there were only certain times that he could be that clinical about it.   
He hadn’t read that book in the last month or so, because he had been having worries and doubts over coming off the blockers as he was not sure if he was even ready but Dr. Minseok, his phycologist, had finally convinced him that everything would be fine. Whilst he was coming off the blockers, he would be going onto a medication that would control and regulate his heats for the first year or so before he would be slowly taken off them to allow his body to fall into a natural rhythm of its own. This would mean that he would know exactly when his heat was due and that he could work out everything that he needed to with his partner. 

Yifan wasn’t quite sure how to even begin to explain how this was all going to work with Suho, but he was sure that his guardian would help to sort it all out. 

However, at that moment in time, he wasn’t thinking about Suho or the upcoming heat, he was more focused on his drawing which was coming together quite nicely. He had no idea why he was drawing a unicorn right at this second in time, but he wasn’t going to let himself get too bogged down on that notion. His creative subconscious wanted to draw a unicorn so a unicorn it was that he was drawing. He wished that he had a pen to go over the lines so that later if he had a panic attack about it and tried to erase it then he wouldn’t be able to do so. Yifan still did not understand why he got random attacks of anxiety, panic and fear like this and why he would just react to them without thinking. Dr. Minseok had explained that it was purely PTSD and a separation anxiety which had been caused by the departure of Suho.

However, since there had been constant contact between the pair, though lesser on the side of Yifan, Dr. Minseok had said that the anxiety had been reduced and refocused properly so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. 

Shaking his head to dispel the thoughts about panic attacks, Yifan smiled at his work and let out a contented little sigh. The unicorn was definitely a little on the wonky side and had what appeared to be a hat rather than an actual horn but he was still rather happy with it. With a sigh, he bent down to pull his bag out from underneath the chair he was sitting on and heard a clatter of a couple of bits to the floor. Groaning, the tall young man clambered down and began picking up his items, happy to find that he did indeed have a couple of pens which he could use to ink the picture in, his phone, a couple of packets of sweets and a key chain. That caused a small frown to cross his face because Yifan owned only a couple of key chains and he didn’t tend to carry them around in his bag. Sitting back on the chair, he blinked at the chain and ran it gentle over his fingers, recognizing it easily as a Pororo and wondering where on earth it had come from. 

Suddenly a thought struck him and he grabbed his phone, scrolled through the saved pictures and eventually found the one that he was looking for. It was a series of pictures of Sehun, playing with one of the capsule machines in the local arcade and he was so happy to get a double drop. Luhan had commented that he was keeping one for himself whilst the other was going to the Dragon Kingdom to cheer up someone very special there. Yifan had not understood the words at the time, he had been far too busy cooing over the pictures to pay attention to them. He didn’t even look at the words this time, instead enlarging the picture so that he could see what it was that Sehun was holding in his hands after getting the two capsules open. 

One was a keychain of the crocodile form the show, whilst the other was Pororo himself. It was the exact same one that he held in his hands currently and confusion rippled through Yifan in a matter of flurries as he tried to process what this all meant. The pups were not supposed to know about him, well they knew that their mother cared for them and would send them gifts but that was supposed to be the extent of it. 

Sure, he knew that when the cubs were old enough then they had every right to try and contact him, but he had hoped that by the time they got curious it would be when they were like sixteen or even later in age. They were not even twelve and already there already a few too many instances where the cubs were showing their awareness of him. Luhan had sworn that he had not let on about knowing who their mother was and Kyungsoo wouldn’t dare to breath a single word about it so Yifan could not figure out how they had even started this. 

It had initially been a medical decision by the doctors to keep the tiny pups and their innocent mother apart as physically and mentally Yifan was in no fit state to try and look after the tiny cubs. It had taken a very long time for anyone to get the story out of the terrified little boy about what had happened to him and even then, the facts were hazy at best. It had taken a chance encounter by a police officer in a drinking establishment for the man who committed the offence to be caught and even then, it had been a long haul to get the full story out of him. 

Even when reunited with his mother and Luhan, Yifan was still very reluctant to say anything about what happened and became jittery around any cub’s younger than himself. Thankfully, seeing as his savior Suho lived only a few streets away, they were able to at least keep him somewhat socialized and not fully able to seclude himself from the world. It was through this contact that they learnt that Suho’s aunt and uncle had adopted the trio, but Yifan had shook his head when offered the chance to go and see them. When pressed for a reason, Yifan had tearfully stated that they were better off without someone as disgusting as him before hiding himself away. 

Suho had found him, three days later, in the basement with a cut to his head. 

Thankfully Yifan had recovered quickly but it was quickly agreed that no one would talk to him about the cubs until he was ready to acknowledge them himself. Yifan had thought that there would never be a time when he would ever actually want to see his cubs, but the passage of time did change his perspective and now that he was starting to get to the age where mates, cubs and families were starting to become important, Yifan found that he wanted to really begin to know his own cubs. Maybe he had been a little on the unfair side with refusing to see them, but according to Dr. Minseok it was all part of the process of dealing with the grief of what he had gone through. He was convinced that he was starting to reach the acceptance stages of the process which would help him to finally recover further. 

Running his fingers carefully over the Pororo keychain, a sad sort of smile came to his lips as he stared at it before letting out a little sigh, “One day, Sehun, one day I’ll be able to thank you in person. I promise you.” 

Putting the phone away, the young man sighed and gently attached the keychain to one of the loops of his bag before looking up as his name was called by Dr. Minseok. Smiling politely, he stood up and followed him into the very familiar office before sitting down with a sigh. 

Dr. Minseok blinked his eyes up towards him in curiosity, “It’s a little early for you to be sighing, Kris, any particular reasons?” 

For a second the boy in front of him was quiet, his expression set in a one which he was fairly used to seeing but this time the doctor noted that it was a lot lighter than normal. No heavy set frowns today, so the thinking was at least something productive. Dr. Minseok smiled as he made some notes on Yifan’s progress report whilst he waited with an infinite amount of patience for Kris to reply to his question. 

Finally, the blond haired young man raised his head up towards the Doctor and blinked, “I…I think the…my cubs…know about me?” 

His voice was tiny, barely a whisper in the crowds that would have gone unnoticed if not for the peace and silence in the office. Kris looked over to his left, to where he knew that Dr. Minseok kept a vase of follows and was pleasantly surprised to see that whilst the flowers had remained as the same set of artificial ones, the vase itself had changed from the old horrible blue on to a much nicer white vase with a firefly pattern painted on it. 

“What would prompt you to think of this, Kris?” Dr. Minseok asked in a pleasant tone a few seconds later, allowing Kris the opportunity to deal with any inner turmoil about this rather new development. 

Taking a moment or two, as he always like to overthink things, Kris finally relented and brought out his phone and the key chain. He showed him the pictures and explained how he had just found the key chain even though he knew that there was no way for Sehun to know about which bag was his in the slightest and at the end of his explanation, Kris found himself looking up into the warm understanding smile of the man whom he had trusted his most precious and darkest secrets to.   
“Am I just jumping to conclusions, Doctor?” he asked, in a more normal and polite tone that was not rushed or too hesitant in the slightest. 

Dr. Minseok shook his head, “No, Kris. You’re not jumping to conclusions. You’re working off presumptions that are influenced by your own past, which is something perfectly normal and correct for someone who has gone through what you have been through. Most children are curious from a young age, always wanting to seek answers to questions on a multiple number of topics and to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if your boys are not already asking questions to the adults who know about their mother. They’ve probably been asking them longer than you have been accepting these pictures and videos of them, but those who know will have kept it from you so that you did not become hurt by it.” 

Kris paused and looked down at the photos, having put the album on a slideshow and finding a smile crossing his features as each new photo showed up, “How can they even begin to understand, though? They’re innocent children.” 

“I did not mean that they would be asking about what happened to you,” Dr. Minseok replied softly, causing Kris to look up at him with a question in his eyes, “Like all children, they want to see for their parents when times are harsh or they don’t understand the world because it is very hard to replace that feeling of love and contentment which comes between our kinds bond between mother and cubs. Whilst Mrs. Kim has done an amazing job in raising the cubs as her own, they at the age now where they begin to realize how different the bond is between the different pack members and they’ll want to know where their missing piece is.” 

“Pieces,” Kris corrects, though he gulps down the bile that rises up with that statement. 

Dr. Minseok nods, “Indeed. Thankfully it would appear that the particular bond in that state never formed or if it did, it was severed quickly.” 

“How can you say that?” Kris asked, feeling a shuddering palpitation through his heart as his mind drifted very briefly over to thoughts about that man and the terrible things that he had done. 

“In all of our sessions, you have never once asked for details about him and I have never heard any stories of the cubs asking for their Father,” Dr. Minseok replied, pulling up a couple of records on the computer as a ways of allowing some time for Kris to think over his words, “To me, that means there is no bond present, which means that they have no connection to that man in the slightest. Of course, this is only from what you have told me and no other source but it is interesting to note, is it not?” 

For a long while the pair were in silence, Dr. Minseok getting up his information in regards to Kris’s recent medical reports after the blockers had been reduced last time, to see if his natural cycle was taking affect in any noticeable form or if they would have to begin introducing the hormone tablets. Kris meanwhile remained quiet, just watching the pictures on his screen of the cubs and wondered how it was possible that he had not noticed it earlier. 

A sudden desperate curiosity grabbed him and with a couple of button presses, Kris had the messaging application open and was already typing away on the screen. 

To: Luhan Gege   
Have the cubs ever asked about their father?

To: Fanfan   
What? Why are you asking about that? 

To: Luhan Gege  
Please, I just want to know 

To: Fanfan  
Well…not really. Now you come to mention it, no. they asked them they were really little but these days they mainly ask about you. 

To: Luhan Gege  
Only about me?

To: Fanfan  
Yeah…they always want to know when their Mummy is going to come and visit them from the Dragon Kingdom. They really took to that 

To: Luhan Gege  
Thanks 

Sitting back on his chair, Kris let out a breath and felt the urge to start crying all over again but he couldn’t honestly say as to why. Was he happy over the fact that his cubs had no interest in their father or was it the fact that they had no connection to that evil piece of slime who could potentially hurt them. His mind was a blaze with a million different questions, all of which he was sure to know the very easy answer to if he were to simply ask but at the same time there was that ever present worry that built up in his stomach. 

Though not a few seconds later, his phone blipped again and he picked it up to find another message from Luhan. 

To: Fanfan   
You know…I didn’t say anything the other day but Kai asked me if your birthday was November 5th or 6th because he wanted to send you something. I asked him how he knew and he just gave that usual cheeky smile of his so I never got the answer out of him.   
It was followed by another blip not five seconds later 

To: Fanfan  
It’s odd, now that I think about it, ever since those three little terrors found out about Suho coming home they’ve been going on none stop about you. I didn’t even notice the change in their behavior now that I come to think about it. Hopefully it’s nothing but…now I’m getting worried about it. 

Kris chuckled and smiled, before typing back a quick reply to his elder brother

To: Luhan Gege  
Don’t worry about it ^^ I guess I should have seen this coming. 

Ignoring the rest of the messages that were coming through the phone, Kris turned his attention to Dr. Minseok who was watching him that that steady gaze which silently asked him the question that was on his mind. Kris sighed again and bashfully rubbed at the back of his neck, “I guess my cubs are better at finding out about me than I am about them.” 

“The inquisitive minds of youth are always the most adaptable,” Dr. Minseok said with a smile, “What do you feel about that?” 

Going to answer the question, Kris heaved in a breath, paused and then released it before shaking his head, “I don’t know. I really don’t.” 

“It never crossed your mind?” Dr. Minseok pressed softly, “About how they could want to see you?” 

“A couple of times,” Kris admitted softly, “But they’re still so young and with so many adventures ahead of them. I thought that I would just be…something forgotten in the back of their minds. A little shoe box that they would find one day and explore later because…” 

Dr. Minseok made sure to carefully choose his words, “Kris, no one would ever call you a bad mother.” 

“What?” Kris asked surprised, his ears raising up to a high point before flattening fully down like a child who had been scolded, “Yes I am.” 

“You’re really not,” Dr. Minseok started soothingly. 

Kris shook his head, “I am. I can’t even bring myself to hold them, to talk to them and the very idea that they’ve found out anything about me is terrifying and just makes me want to run away to the city or…my babies don’t need me to mess up everything. They don’t need to have me as a burden on their lives…I want them to grow up good and pure and be everything that I couldn’t be. How can I do that if I end up in their lives?” 

Dr. Minseok let out a soft sigh, “Kris, I’m going to tell you something that is completely off the record and knowing you as well as I do, I know that you will not believe me for a long time but one day my words will come back to you and you will realize why I am saying them today. I have met many different mothers and fathers over the years, some who are apparently perfect in every way and who just want the best for their cubs, like you do, but without the skills or the self realization that the problem with their child is themselves. Because they put too much pressure on their child, think that they should act in a certain way even though they have never brought them up correctly to begin with and live in a world of fantasy. You however, are one of the strongest mothers that I have ever seen. Regardless of what has happened to you, of what that man did to you, you have never once blamed your children for how you came out of it, you have never once cursed their existence or wished that they were dead. You’re only wish for them has been that they would grow up healthy, happy and surrounded by love and affection always.” 

He paused for a fraction of a second, “Yes you have not been with them, have not seen their first steps or physically taken care of them in the middle of the night when they’re awake with a screaming fever, but you have always loved them. Whilst it has taken you time to accept that fact and to gain your confidence in wanting to see them, you have always been hovering in the background, watching and waiting just to make sure that nothing ever bad happens to them in the slightest. I’m not going to claim that you’re the world’s most perfect mother, but in your own right, you are a very strong mother who works through every day to reach his end goal.” 

Kris blinked in surprise towards the man, “Really?” 

Dr. Minseok nodded towards him, “I’m not expecting you to suddenly turn up at their doorstep tomorrow morning to give them hugs and kisses but within the next two years, I can see you seeing them at least once a week for a family meet up or something similar.” 

“How do you know that?” Kris asked, his voice barely a whisper once again. 

There came a knowing smile from Dr. Minseok, “Because when my mate returned to my side, I was in a similar situation but unlike you my cub had been taken away by social services because I could not cope. Within six months they had me back on track and within a year, I was able to visit my cub and now he practically lives between us and his foster parents without any troubles. It’s not an easy road, I will admit that, and there will be times that you will be scared, frustrated and angry but believe me Yifan, it does get better and you will be amazed when you look back one day and see how far you’ve come.” 

Staring at the other omega in amazement, Yifan opened his mouth to say something more to him but found that he could not. Instead he slowly sat back in his chair and just stared at him with a new found admiration. Dr. Minseok smiled and mimicked his movements, before leaning forward in a professional manner to go back through his medical report, “Hmm, it seems that you’re having no adverse side effects to being removed from the blockers treatment, so that is a very good sign indeed. I think we should be able to reduce the dose to just one tablet a day and hopefully by then your natural cycle should start functioning…though your silicone levels are still very low so I think I’ll start you on a small dose of hormone treatment just to see if we can’t kick start that into action.” 

“You mean…I’ll be getting heats?” Yifan asked, sounding worried again. 

“Not quite, the remaining blocker should still work on those,” Dr. Minseok said, “But you may become a little more receptive to your partner at times. Perfectly natural of course but if you get frisky now there may be complications with whatever you try so I would keep it to touches. Possibly oral but no further than that.” 

Yifan had gone bright red at her words and hid his face with his hands, but Dr. Minseok ignored this as it was another thing which was perfectly natural and also a good sign. “Though from what I’ve heard of your potential mate, I think you should just be fine. Now, I know you hate this but I have to run my standard checks on you so if you could step behind the curtain and remove your clothes, we shall get this over and done with as quickly as possible. 

Thankfully the rest of the appointment went as routine and Yifan relaxed automatically in the omega’s presence despite having been clad in nothing but his boxer shorts for most of the time. They talked about small, little unimportant things whilst the standard array of tests were carried out and Yifan wished that all aspects of his life could just be this easy, it would sure as hell make it a lot less difficult to deal with but he knew that if it were that easy then life would be very boring. 

Once everything was done and finished with, Yifan pulled on his clothes and picked up his bag, signed the usual documents and gave Dr. Minseok a hug which was not technically an appropriate response for doctor and patient but it was one of the ways that Dr. Minseok had managed to gain the trust of Yifan so they kept it as part of their sessions. Plus Dr. Minseok was a very cuddly person which made it all the more nicer. 

Finished up with this little routine, Yifan headed out of the appointment and down the corridor, pausing momentarily by one of the vending machines to grab himself a cold box of milk before heading outside to attempt to hail a taxi or some other mode of transport as he already knew that Luhan was pulling a double shift and was unable to pick him up. 

His phone blipped and Yifan picked it up, frowning at the message that had been delivered from his Suho. 

To: My Little One  
Look right, my little one, surprise (^-^)/`

Blinking, Yifan turned and found himself blushing in surprise because there was Suho, leaning almost like a model against a lamppost in an outfit which had to be designed by Luhan. Slick fitting jeans that were not too tight but gave enough of an impression with their dark stone wash texture, a blue ruffle shirt with a few buttons left teasingly open at the top and a thin black waistcoat to just keep it all in. His hair had been styled neatly up and back, exposing his forehead a little and allowing those murderously dark eyes to bore deeply into the omega’s which sent a shiver through Yifan’s back. In fact, he felt more like melting into a puddle than he normally did with the heat of the midmorning sun, and for a second he couldn’t even think how he should appropriately react to the sight of Suho standing there like that. 

Thankfully, the cool and very calm Suho just smiled and moved across to the very shy, rather awkwardly tall omega and gently cupped the side of his face with his hand, “Did I shock you that much, my little one?” 

“A…little,” Yifan admitted, blushing and feeling like a complete and total idiot the second that he said that because he was sure that he was acting very much like a school girl with her first crush and it was completely embarrassing. 

However, Suho just giggled and cooed unashamedly, pinching both of Yifan’s cheeks together like he was a little cub, “You are just too cute, you know that? You ruin my attempts to be all cool and grown up cause I just want to smush you.” 

“Joonmyeon!” Yifan was really blushing now and tried to pull away from the face squishing because it was actually starting to hurt just a little bit, “You’re embarrassing.” 

“What? Because I called you cute?” Suho said, looping his arm around Yifan’s so that he could not get away and smiled that huge megawatt smile up towards the other, “You are cute to me and I don’t care if anyone stands and gawps at us. I want the world to know that you’re mine and that you are completely adorable.” 

A side-eyed glare came his way as Yifan tried to start walking, hoping that the tittering’s of a group of girls nearby weren’t what he thought they were or the curious stares of a couple of elder people who were doing the shopping weren’t judging him for the affectionate public display. He could almost see the look in the alpha’s eyes across the street, his nose slightly upturned at the idea that he would allow someone to treat him hat way so publicly and thanks to his twitching ears, Yifan heard the man mutter, “Weak alpha, letting his omega prance around like some idiot.” 

Blinking in surprise, Yifan glanced down at Suho wondering how on earth anyone could genuinely think that he was the omega in the relationship only to find himself pulling back as something was shoved directly into his nose. A sneeze followed not five seconds afterwards and Yifan blinked heavily, before turning to look back at Suho who seemed to be shocked, “Are you okay, Yifan?” 

“Err, yes?” Yifan said and then promptly sneezed again, twitching his nose in irritation before looking at Suho again and realizing that he was holding onto a fairly large, single stemmed flower which was wrapped up in clear plastic with little white hearts and butterflies on it. “What’s that for?” 

“Oh this?” Suho said, smiling stupidly and acting shy for a second, “Well I couldn’t really take you out on a date without some kind of gift, could I? So, I went a bought you this.” 

The flower was a very soft purple colouring and had lovely little white patches on it. For a second Yifan was torn between feeling as though he was dancing somewhere on the clouds to being utterly dismayed because clearly his Suho had not spoken to Luhan first about what type of gift he should get Yifan for this sort of situation. 

Before he could explain however, he sneezed again quite loudly and Suho stepped closer with the flower and a handkerchief, “Are you sure you’re okay, Yifan? You’ve not caught a cold or something have you?” 

Yifan shook his head, “No…it’s the…. achoo…. flower!” 

“Huh?” Suho looked down at the flower and then back towards Yifan in confusion for a few seconds before his black ears perked up as realization struck, “You’re allergic to flowers?” 

“Only certain ones,” Yifan managed to thankfully catch the sneeze that was threatening to explode out of his nose with the handkerchief this time and he smiled apologetically towards Suho, “I love Gladioli but they bring me out in a sneezing fest.” 

“Oh,” Suho pouted adorably towards the power, “Well…sorry.” 

Yifan couldn’t help but shake his head, feeling a light tug of a smile on his face, “It’s fine, you weren’t to know.” 

“Hmm, I think there’s a flower stall just down here so I can always just give it to them and they can make a little extra,” Suho smiled, catching hold of Yifan’s hand to start tugging him down towards the main street with a smile, “Not exactly the way I planned to start our date but I guess it could have been worse.” 

A resounding sneeze came from Yifan which pretty much proved that point and Suho did honestly feel guilty about being the accidental cause of it all. He did stop at the flower stall to hand the flower over and tell the lady to sell it on for him because he had made a slight mistake and then he had promptly gone and bought a bottle of water and a small rabbit shaped candy floss for Yifan to make up for it. Gently he blinked at the omega as he approached, realizing that his omega was looking as though he was about to pass out from the heat. “Did you bring a hat or anything with you today, Yifan? You look as though you might pass out on me.” 

Yifan shook his head, accepting the water and handing the handkerchief back to Suho who folded it neatly and placed it in his pocket. “I’m not usually picked up and taken somewhere after my appointments,” he admitted a little shyly, “Normally I just want to go home and curl up in a corner somewhere.” 

Suho hummed, “Well if we spot a hat shop we may just have to buy you one, I don’t want you passing out on me. That would make this the worst date ever.” 

There was a pause as Yifan took a gulp out of the water bottle before the words finally registered with the omega, “Wait. What?”

There came a chuckle from the smaller alpha, “We’re on a date Yifan.” 

“But…what…. you…I…Erm…” Yifan blushed a bright red, virtually matching his shirt and pulled back, “You shouldn’t…” 

“Hey, hey it’s okay my little one,” Suho said softly, stepping forward to run his fingers over the edge of Yifan’s ears, something which he had found out a long time ago was soothing and could relax the younger man down in a matter of seconds, “You’re here with me. You’re safe and I’m taking you out on a date because I promised you that I would yesterday, remember?” 

Yifan did remember that promise but it still seemed to be a little on the surreal side. Lightly he sighed and looked up towards Suho’s eyes, trying to read into them, “You said…” 

“That we would have a catch up meal or something,” Suho smiled in return, “and that’s what we’re doing. But practically everyone will call it as a date, so why not give it the correct term from the start.” 

Looking down at the ground, Yifan scuffed his feet, “I’m sorry.” 

“What for?” Suho asked softly in return. 

Yifan shook his head, “I’m like this all the time Suho. I just…freak and lose confidence all the time. You’ll get sick of that eventually.” 

“No, I won’t,” came the stubborn reply, “not in a million years.” 

The omega wanted to yell in frustration but he didn’t. Instead his mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to form the words which he hoped would explain himself somehow to the other, to make the alpha see that he was probably better not wasting his time on him when they were doomed to failure because Yifan couldn’t get his act together and stop freaking out. He tried, he really did try but his attacks of fear and anxiety were always going to be a big problem and no alpha deserved having to deal with an emotionally unstable omega who would cause problems somewhere along the line because he just couldn’t keep up with the world. 

Taking a deep breath to try and push Suho away verbally, Yifan was shocked to silence instead when he found Suho’s lips on his. The kiss was long, holding and gentle and after a few mere seconds, Yifan found himself relaxing, the tension in his body receding and a breath of relief escaped from his lips as Suho pulled back so that he could look at the other straight in the eyes and smile. “Yifan, I’m not here to rekindle an old love affair or be some fairy tale prince who comes in on a white horse and all of that. I came back here for you, because I wanted to come back for you. I know a little about your problems, I know that you freak out and try to run away still and I know that you’ll push me away or will try to because you can’t trust anyone. Or you think you can’t because of what that vile man said and did to you all those years ago.” 

Slowly Suho raised his hand up, the one that still held the bite mark which Yifan had made on that horrible night all those years ago and made sure that Yifan was looking directly at it, “But I also know that you chose me to be your rock, to be someone you could have confidence in on that night. Whilst you were terrified and completely out of your mind, your omega sought out the protection that it wanted and I’m still here for you. I’m not going to say that it’s going to be an easy path, because I’m not that stupid and I’m certainly not here to win any awards as the world’s best alpha or anything like that but I will be there for you Yifan. Through everything. Through the frustration, through the anger, through the worst times and through the best times because if there was one thing I learnt in the city whilst I was there, it was that life is not always what it appears and there are many ways that we can work this through together.” 

Staring straight into Suho’s eyes, Yifan did the first thing that both his head and heart agreed on in that second. 

He flung his arms tightly around Suho and held on to his Guardian, his protector, to the wolf that would undoubtedly be the reason why he continued to live in this ever changing world. He found that there were no tears to shed, no unnecessary babbling of words, just a soft beating sound which took him a good minute or two to recognize was his own heartbeat matching Suho’s perfectly. 

Suho gently kissed the tips of his ears, “There, my little one, you know that you’ll always be safe with me. Regardless of what happens.” 

Slowly pulling back, Yifan managed a weak smile towards Suho, “I still think that you’re far too good for me.” 

“According to your elder brother, I’m possibly the most idiotic and stupid thing that ever happened to you,” came the cheeky reply before Suho leant forward to steal another quick kiss from Yifan, “Now come on, I’ve got a really great place lined up for us and if we don’t hurry we’re going to have to queue and in this heat I really don’t think that’s a good idea for you.” 

Offering his hand again, Suho was overjoyed when Yifan took it and gently he tugged the other along so that they could start down the streets. He was thankful that whilst his omega had been at the appointment he had had the time to find out exactly where the café he wanted to take Yifan to was and how to get there so that he didn’t end up walking around for hours like a complete idiot or something even worse. There was no talk between them for a few minutes, mainly because Yifan was eating the sweet treat that had been gotten for him and was unknowingly getting sugar everywhere but Suho thought it was just too adorable to mention so did not bother in the slightest. Instead he hummed happily as they walked along the streets, occasionally glancing into shop windows but never allowing himself to be distracted for too long. 

“Doesn’t it bother you?” Yifan asked quietly once he had finished the treat and put the rubbish away correctly into a recycling bin. 

“What?” Suho asked, tearing his eyes away from a display of plushi’s in a crane game because he knew if he started playing that then they would have no money for the café. 

Yifan blinked, frowning towards his partner, “there’s been at least five or more people in the last few minutes who have mistaken you for an being an omega.” 

“Really?” Suho blinked, turning to look up at Yifan and forgetting his mental calculation on how likely he was to win one of the cute ducks for the other out of the machine because they really did look to be just far too cute and cuddly.   
Nodding in response, Yifan couldn’t help but frown when Suho burst out laughing and picked up his pace again, “Oh boy, I guess I really don’t act like an alpha then.” 

“Huh?” Yifan could only respond with, not understanding the others light hearted mood over the situation. 

“In the city, I was forever being mistaken as an omega,” Suho replied with a grin, “Even in university when I was assigned to the Alpha dorms everyone thought there had been a mistake until I roundhouse kicked one of the more persistent alphas into the wall and sent two of the seniors running off with their tails between their legs after I growled at them.” 

A blink was his response, “You did that?” 

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you in my letters? Oh no, I didn’t actually cause I was too busy gushing about my friend Chanyeol at the time,” Suho grinned, “You’ll like him if he ever comes to visit.” 

“You said that he’s a virus,” Yifan replied with a tiny pout on his lips. 

“A happy virus,” Suho replied with chuckling fondly, “Seriously, he’s just got this really happy personality that is annoying but also infectious as anything you can imagine. But he’s also the most kindest and reliable guy that I’ve ever met in my entire life. I hope he gets a job over this side of the tracks then you can meet him, cause he seriously adored your pictures and even asked to buy a couple from me.” 

Yifan looked shocked at that comment, “No he did not.” 

“He did, honestly,” Suho said with a grin, his eyes forming little happy eye smiles, “He went through a phase of trying to steal my post so that he could get your artwork before I got a chance to. He’s a big goofball and an idiot but so lovely with it.”   
Yifan snorted, “I think his alpha will have a hell of a time with him.” 

“Other way round,” Suho grinned, “He’s an alpha himself. Though honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him actually get angry and display his alpha tendencies. Except that time he tried to bear hug me to death, the big git.”   
“There’s an alpha more omega-like than you?” Yifan stated in a deadpan manner. 

“Hey! That’s mean,” Suho said, lightly flicking his fingers towards Yifan before suddenly brightening when he heard Yifan laughing a little towards him. It was only soft and half hidden because the other was ducking his head and Suho could not resist the opportunity to hug the tall omega with a happy coo. “There’s my little trouble maker, knew it wouldn’t be long before you came back, Fannie.” 

“Oh, stop it,” Yifan snapped, pushing Suho back and blushing but not really meaning them in the slightest, “You’re being silly.” 

“So are you,” Suho grinned happily in return, silently amazed that they had been able to fall back into their old childish ways without so much as a pause of awkwardness between them which was nice. 

Yifan hummed and then flicked his white ears cutely, “What did you mean about Chanyeol getting a job this side of the rails?” 

“Oh yeah, he got himself a job on the OD circuit,” Suho said without much thought behind it. 

“The OD?” Yifan asked, sounding puzzled. 

“Oh, the Omega Date Program,” Suho realized that Yifan probably knew very little about that service, “It’s for omegas who don’t have mates and don’t want a total stranger to help them through the heat or go through it alone.”   
“It’s a dating thing then?” Yifan asked, not quite getting why anyone would want to sign up to anything like that. 

Suho shook his head, “Not quite. There are dates involved but it’s more of a match making service really. Omegas can apply to the service so that when they’re heat is due so they can be paired with a suitable alpha who will take them through their heat and ensure that they are well looked the whole time. It’s completely legal and to even be considered you have to be practically of Idol status and everything is checked out on both parties beforehand so it’s perfectly safe and very popular.”   
“And your friend works for them?” Yifan asked, wondering just how that could be seen as a career. 

Suho replied with a nod, “Yeah, he got confirmed in during his last year of university as long as he passed with flying colours and since he came second in the year, he was pretty much in the training course before we had a chance to celebrate with a big party.”   
For a few seconds Yifan was quiet, mulling over the words that the other had said and then he tilted his head towards Suho, “I don’t get the point of that service.” 

“Me either to be truthful,” Suho replied with a bright smile as he turned down a side street and carefully dodged a group of happy children on their bikes, “But there again, we’ve not exactly grown up the same as many others so I suppose that’s what could be the difference.” 

Nodding again, Yifan took a gulp of his water before realizing that he had completely forgotten about the milk that he had bought earlier. Oh well, it was still sealed in his bag so he would just have to hope that it would not get too hot in there. Though he could just throw it in the fridge when he got back home because that would make it perfectly fine. Blinking, he turned to ask Suho a question only to find himself mentally pausing to admire the other alpha some more. In some ways, it was perfectly fine that Suho was smaller than him, because it gave Yifan all the excuses to be looking at the other and not get told off for it. He admired the others side profile, from the tips of his black ears, down his lovely sloping nose to a pair of lips that were just made exclusively for kissing and a long neck that looked to be quite bitable should Yifan ever actually feel the urge to do something like that. 

Realizing where his thoughts were taking him, Yifan straightened, blushed and turned to look away, praying that he had not been caught doing something so silly and embarrassing as that because he was really trying not to be some ditzy high school girl from a teenage drama that he liked to indulge in from time to time. The soppy ones which were about as realistic as a Disney painting and were far too sweet and sugar coated. 

Though his ears flicked ever so slightly, and he turned to Suho with a questioning look, “Why are you humming, ‘Summer Puppy Love’?” 

Stopping his humming, mainly because he had barely realized that he had begun to do so and also because he was a little ashamed of getting caught, Suho looked guilty for a few seconds and then shrugged, “I’m…I just…I really like that song?” Lightly the alpha shrugged, looking a little bashful, “I know it’s cheesy and completely aimed at kids but…” 

“You still watch those movies?” Yifan asked carefully, remembering the rainy nights when he couldn’t sleep and Suho would come over to his house with a bunch of blankets and they would make a fort out of all of them, before snuggling up together on the biggest pile of pillows to watch the movies back to back on the portable DVD player. Nine times out of ten they would be asleep straight after their favourite song of ‘Summer Puppy Love’ but there were times when they managed to watch all four two hour long movies without finding the need to fall asleep until long after the sun had risen. 

A knowing smile crossed Suho’s face, “I heard that they’re bringing out a fifth movie in a couple of weeks. Do you want me to get us tickets for it?” 

Blushing like mad once again, Yifan looked down but nodded instead of spurting out a thousand and one reasons why the other shouldn’t be buying him the tickets for that silly movie. He knew fine well that it would be silly, dopey and probably a reboot or a continuation with older actors that may or may not work but there was just something about them all that Yifan still enjoyed to this day. When he had first heard about the movie coming out he had been so sad because he knew that Luhan would kill him if he had to sit through another one of those movies and he really couldn’t imagine Kyungsoo being up for it either. In fact, Kyungsoo had always blamed his elder cousin for his extreme dislike of the movies because of the number of times that he been forced to sit through those movies to the point where he could not stand them anymore. 

Plus, Yifan knew that regardless of the fact of what he actually said, Suho was more than liable to go and buy him the tickets and drag him to the theatre to see them anyway. Though Yifan gently licked his lips, “If you can though, try and get a private box.”   
“A private box?” Suho asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. 

Yifan nodded, “Yeah, it stops me freaking out.” 

“Oh, if an unknown alpha sits next to you?” Suho guessed correctly and nodded, squeezing Yifan’s hand, “That makes perfect sense. Though I think I’ll be about the only alpha in the place, it’s not typical of our kinds movies.” 

A light chuckle escaped from Yifan’s lips for a second, before he hid it with a drink of water, “I know. Luhan was mad at me for a week when I forced him to take me to the forth one.” 

“That was because he had to tell people that he was not dating his little brother,” Suho replied, grinning as he accepted a drink from the bottle before he chuckled, “He would never admit to having a soft spot for those movies.” 

“Luhan Gege hates those movies,” Yifan said, shaking his head from side to side and vaguely wondering if his sudden talkability was purely being caused by Suho or his hormone’s playing havoc with him. “He would always groan and grumble on about having to be forced to watch them and made me sit through an action film to make up for the cinema trip of hell as he called it.” 

Gently Suho licked his lips, “Don’t tell him that I told you but Luhan asked me to get him a limited edition stationary pack for the fourth movie just for him.” 

“What?” Yifan asked, staring at Suho, “He did not.” 

“Oh, he did,” Suho grinned cheekily, “He asked me to get one for you and one for that omega he had his eye on a couple of years ago but they were just the normal releases. The limited edition with the full stationary set, phone charms, cast signed photo and the special gift he ordered for himself.” 

Yifan blinked, “I’ve never seen that.” 

“It’ll be hidden somewhere or he’ll have it in his flat so that you can’t find it,” Suho grinned, “Sometimes it’s a bit of a curse being an alpha.” 

“Why?” Yifan asked, genuinely intrigued. 

“Cause we’re not supposed to like cute things or do soppy stuff and all of that jazz even though we all know that most omegas completely love it and that if we were to get involved with it all then we’d have so many potential partners that it would be quite the fun time,” Suho replied back with a slight blush, “Though like I said before, I never once cared about it and had plenty of omega friends who were all convinced that I was an omega. Even my beta friends thought I was.” 

Yifan snorted, “Are you sure you didn’t just deliberately act like one to keep yourself free?” 

“Ohhh, do I detect a little bit of jealousy there?” Suho teased back, cooing when he saw the shy, sweet look of someone who had just been completely caught out on his omega’s face, “Don’t look so cute cause otherwise I’ll just squish your face some more.” The small fact that he did this whilst saying those words was a comment left unsaid but if Yifan minded he left no sign of it because Suho placed a sweet little kiss on the tip of his nose. “Plus, like I said before and I’ll probably say a million more times before you actually believe me, my little one, you are my only one and…” 

“No,” Yifan said, pulling back and taking a few steps away, “You are not singing that song me to right now!” 

“Aww but Fanfan!” Suho called, chasing after the other, “You know you love it.” 

“Joonmyeon!” Yifan whined, now looking completely embarrassed, “You’re making a scene!” 

“Of course, I am, but I’m totally allowed to,” Joonmyeon replied grinning from ear to ear before gently catching hold of Yifan’s hand and tugging him off down another street, “Okay, I’ll stop. It’s not my fault that you’re so cute and adorable.” 

Whining once again, Yifan went to tell Joonmyeon to stop because even though he was enjoying the attention he was sure that at some point it was going to stop being fun though he really wished that it would never come to that point. However, before he could get the words to form properly, his eyes fell one something very cute and very pink. 

In fact, it was a white kitten in a pink dress with a matching bow on her left hand ear and an all too easily recognizable gaze that had the omega kneeling down to match the height of the large ornamental Hello Kitty statue that had a paw extended towards the stairs and a little sign which read, “Café this Way.” 

Yifan smiled softly at the figure and then reached out to pet her as he always typically did with anything that was related to Hello Kitty and was only brought out of his little trance when there came the click of a camera phone. He turned to the sound and playfully pouted towards Suho, before his eyes flicked up the small set of stairs that his partner was already standing on with a knowing grin. “Come on, Fanfan,” Suho said offering his hand towards the other for the fifth time alone in the past half hour, “Let’s go on our date huh?” 

Blinking like a child, Yifan stared at Suho like he was completely insane before looking up the steps to what could only be the Hello Kitty Café and then back towards Suho with a distinct look of confusion in his eyes. Several more times he did this, clearly not able to comprehend what was going on and mentally debating over the fact if he should turn tail and run right this very second or rush up the stairs ahead of Suho to just confirm that this was indeed real. Rolling his eyes skywards, Suho let out a huff and moved down the few steps that he had climbed, took a firm hold of Yifan’s hand and gave him a firm tug up all of the stairs until they were standing in the courtyard outside the very pink café where the door jangled open as a happy group of girls walked out, their ears adorned with cute bows that they had bought from the store inside. Joonmyeon could not help but smile brightly as he headed inside, feeling Yifan’s grip on his hand tighten just ever so slightly. 

“Table for two please,” he said politely to the girl who was on allocation duty and they were lead to a small table towards the back of the café which had bright pink chairs, an adorable white lace table cloth set with pink condiments and a small bright pink – thankfully artificial – rose which was sprinkled with lots of sparkling glitter. 

Yifan sat down opposite him, looking around in wonder as if he didn’t know where to look first and Joonmyeon could only smile brightly at the fact that he had made his mate so happy. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Yifan leaned forward to press a light kiss to his lips before pulling back with a soft, “Thank you.” 

Joonmyeon smiled back even more brightly than he had been before, “You’re welcome. I think you’re going to enjoy this date way more than I am.” 

For once Yifan nodded, allowing his usual small smile to increase just a little further than he had done in a long while and Suho was glad to have left the photo app open on his phone so that he could snatch the shot before it was gone. He’d do anything and everything to make Yifan happy and this was a good start in his books. A very good start.


	5. Chapter 4 - Of Kittens and Dragons

Grinning like a complete fool as he lined up the most perfect shot of his little omega, who was in the process of pressing the nose of a Hello Kitty doll on their table, Suho couldn’t help but chuckle as he pressed the camera button just at the right moment to catch the tiny cute smile of Yifan. If the omega noticed that he was being continuously photographed, he did not appear to show any signs of distress which was a good thing. However, Suho thought that more than likely it was a case of him being completely distracted by all of the cuteness around him, because as much as Yifan wore the protective shield of Kris, the cold hearted, closed off young man who was not to be approached in the slightest, in reality he was like virtually every other omega on the planet.   
Stick something small, cute and fluffy in front of him and he would be happy for hours. 

It had been an almost instinctive thing for Suho as they entered the pink themed café, to make a grab for one of the larger dolls from a basket at the counter and once they had sat down, he had plonked the doll straight in front of Yifan with a knowing look. A confused and worried blink had been his reply until Suho practically pushed the doll into Yifan’s face and made it dance back and forth with a half forgotten little tune spilling from his lips that he vaguely recalled singing to the other when he would hide away in a corner. It had been hard for him to understand at that point in life that Yifan had been merely wanting to run away from the terrible feelings in his heart and mind, as well as fearing the people around him. But the nine-year-old Joonmyeon had discovered that sitting in front of the frightened little boy with some kind of doll or soft toy in his hands whilst singing the theme song from their favourite children’s television show was enough to make Yifan smile again and relax a little. 

Apparently, it still worked to this day because Yifan had blushed before grabbing the doll away from Suho’s hand, and proceeded to stare at it happily and prod the little yellow button of a nose for the last ten minutes. 

A smile crossed Suho’s face as he watched Yifan, glad to see that the small little boy who had been so pivotal in his life was still hiding beneath the self create layers of protection and that he could bring him out to the surface. He got the feeling that it wasn’t always going to be this easy and there would be difficult and dark times ahead but he would always remember these moments because it made everything worth it. Humans got confused with wolves and shifters in general, as they did not understand the complexities of emotions and displays of affection which they all seemed to have and Suho had found that explaining it had been even harder to do. 

Wolves always lived a life of two half’s, their human appearance was only one factor in the complex layer and it had been proven that the inner-wolf aged slower than the physical human body. So hence why wolf children could be described as being more feral and wild, wanting to play daft games and run around with a never-ending amount of energy for far longer than a human child would do. Wolves had no problem in a twelve-year-old playing with toys and games that were designed for a younger age range, in fact they encouraged it because they were still cubs at that age and it was all part of the play. Virtually everyone grew out of it by the time they were fifteen or sixteen, when typically, puberty would kick in properly for a wolf child but it still wasn’t that uncommon to find that teenage wolves were bundles of energy who tried to prove they were the boss with play fights, dares and acts which most human teenagers thought were dumb, boring or just downright dangerous. 

Suho’s little gang of shifters had gotten into their fair share of trouble for doing crazy little stunts and having wrestling competitions on the spur of the moment but it was all perfectly natural. Heck even the adult shifters would play from time to time, especially if there were cubs about because it was just a naturally infectious stimulant. Wolves were pack animals after all and they strove to reaffirm their places within the hierarchy as well as learn from each other and try out new moves. 

His mother had said that it was the joy of being in touch with nature that all wolves hand, but Suho thought that it was more of an excuse to allow adults to play like children and get away with it. Not that he was going to complain naturally, he loved to play and he was sure with three energetic young cubs running around his feet, there was going to be plenty of time for that.

Another flick of his phone captured yet another picture of Yifan playing with his doll but this time a large hand reached out to shyly put the device away, “Why do you keep doing that?” 

“Doing what?” Suho asked, already busy saving the image to his gallery because he knew that Yifan would try to delete it if he got half the chance to do so. 

Yifan sighed, “Taking pictures of me. You should have more than enough by now.” 

“I’ll never have enough of you Yifan,” Suho grinned up brightly towards the other, “Don’t worry, I’ll stop for now.” It was easy to smell the slight whiff of distress that was coming off of his omega and he really didn’t want the date to go badly. He was trying to reconnect with his future mate after all and his attention should fully be on him at all times. Granted taking a million and one pictures of him was certainly a way of having his attention on Yifan all of the time but Suho figured that it would possibly get annoying. 

Yifan had a puzzled look on his face, “Why do you take them?” 

“Cause I want to,” Suho shrugged in reply, smiling brightly, “and because you looked so happy and cute playing with Kitty here that I just wanted to capture the moment.” 

“But why?” Yifan asked and Suho mentally reminded himself not to get frustrated at this game of a million questions. He knew that this was all connected to everything that had happened in the past and that Yifan was in his own self-destructive cycle of constantly questioning everything that was said to him. Some days Suho wished that he could just reverse time and go back and beat the living snot out of the monster who would try and hurt the precious young man in front of him before he could even manage it. But then that would change the time line and who knew what would happen then. 

Still he knew that he had to answer Yifan’s question or else the date would just turn into a sour mess, “Because I like having photos of you and it makes me happy. When I start work and can’t be with you every day, I’ll be able to look at those photos on my break or if I’m feeling a bit sneaky and see you and feel better in myself because I know that I can make you happy and that means the world to me.” 

There was a pause for a few awful seconds before a shy blush crossed Yifan’s face. 

“Do you have to be so cheesy?” Yifan asked, trying to hide his face with his hands but instead found the Hello Kitty doll being thrust back into his fingers. 

Suho grinned up at him, “You like it when I’m being cheesy.”   
“You’re…” Yifan knew that the word should be irritating or even infuriating but the omega could not bring himself to say it in the slightest. Because in his eyes there was nothing that was either of those two words about Joonmyeon. He really was the brightest light in the darkness and even though he was sure that he would get burned at some point, Yifan couldn’t help but rushing towards him with every ounce of his mind, body and soul. He sighed and played with the doll in his hands, pouting a little though it was clear that he was trying desperately not to laugh. 

Suho just continued to shine brightly like the run and reached across to pet the others white ears, “I know. But you still like it. Man, you jammy sod, you’ve still got your silk ears.” 

“Have not,” Yifan shot back childishly, flicking his pure white ear out of Suho’s reach for a second before groaning when he remembered that the other was now an adult and could easily pet his ears without much hassle. He flattened them down, “Stop that.” 

“Why?” Suho asked, still petting the ears despite being told not to. 

Yifan sent him a pleading look, hoping that the other would get the general idea and just let go of his ear like this but Suho instead flicked his eyes over to a corner where another couple sat. Two young girls, a Beta and an Alpha were staring at each other with sparkling eyes and the alpha was petting the beta’s ears with a soft smile on her face. Yifan found it within himself to snort, “They’re sixteen and cute, we are not.” 

“No one knows our age,” Suho countered, suddenly appearing on Yifan’s side of the table with his chair so that he could wrap his arm securely around the omega and continued to pet his silken ears, “and we do look cute together.” 

Another whimpering whine escaped from Yifan but he stopped short of spluttering out any complaints when the waitress arrived with an order, Suho must have done it whilst he was distracted by the doll, which contained two strawberry ice coffee, a bright pink cake slice and a selection of cookies. Yifan blushed when the waitress smiled politely at them and said that there was a small couple section upstairs if they wanted to take a selfie together after their meal and Suho nodded his thanks as he left the table. 

“See,” Suho said smugly, picking up a cookie to bring it towards Yifan’s lips, “Told you so.” 

Yifan pouted but accepted the cookie regardless because he knew fine well that there was nothing that he could argue his point across. He still didn’t get why anyone would think that they were a cut couple however, strange for certain or even on some levels weird because that was exactly what they were with their none matching heights and status which could easily be mistaken but he figured that just maybe it was one of life’s little mysteries that he would just never figure out in the slightest. 

Like how they made strawberry iced coffee taste so nice. The rest of the hour they spent in the café was relatively silent, mainly because Yifan gave up on fighting the need to push Suho away and instead allowed himself to enjoy the sensation of being cuddled up to his mate, basking in his lovely familiar scent and just allowing himself to be looked after. It had been an awful long time since he had allowed someone to do this sort of thing to him but right now he felt comfortable enough to do so and he knew that no words needed to be said either. Joonmyeon fed him cookies and the iced coffee and helped him eat the cake, all whilst allowing him to cuddle into his side and feel calm, relaxed and refreshed. 

All Yifan had to do was sit still and allow Joonmyeon to stroke his silken ears, which he knew was the correct description for his ears, it was just the one that he did not like admitting to overly much. Only cubs were supposed to have silk like ears, the older a wolf got the rougher the fur became on their ears and tails but everyone always said that Yifan retained his silken ones. Most made a joking comment about bring jealous about that fact, whilst others got jealous and demanded to know what he used to keep it all like that. Yifan did not know and could not find the words to explain so typically he would deny the fact that they were silken like. 

He should have known that it would be pointless arguing with Suho on the matter, his mate would always know when he was lying or degrading himself and would immediately try to make him feel better. Yifan sighed a little heavier, snuggling in further to the warmth that was his mate and wished that he never had to step out of this feeling. 

“Cookie for your thoughts,” Joonmyeon asked in a quiet little whisper, his lips just brushing over the sensitive sections of his ears. 

“I want to stay feeling safe like this,” Yifan replied without evening pausing to stop and think about what he was saying in the slightest, “I…really…really like…this…this…feeling.” 

Pride swelled up in Joonmyeon’s heart as he lightly turned his head to press a kiss to the soft black hair that the other had. Gently he tightened the hold around the slim figure in his arms and allowed his positive feelings to burst through the fragile connection that they held between one another. He felt it strengthening, adding more layers that twisted and knotted together in a perfect balance. They were still in early days, there was still a lot of unknowns but Suho was happy to share in everything that would make the pair of them, well them. Many wouldn’t understand it, many would misunderstand the connection that the pair held and there would be those who would be disgusted by them and think that Suho was just saving face for a friend but that would never be allowed to take control. 

Joonmyeon wanted to be Yifan’s world, he wanted to make Yifan smile again and act like an happy omega who could be around all sorts of different people, who was no longer afraid of the past, of his shadow and of the cubs that he so clearly wanted to be with. Joonmyeon would forever be Yifan’s Suho, his guardian who would make sure that everything flowed as it was meant to and that someday they would be everything that they both wanted the world to be. 

The words did not need to be spoken, they were already engraved upon their hearts by the actions that had brought them together, no matter how dark and depressing that time had been. Suho re-kissed the top of Yifan’s head as he fed him the cookie, “Good,” was all he said on the matter and that was more than enough for now. 

Once their treats were finished, Suho paid without much of an argument from Yifan because the omega had figured that regardless of what he said there was no way his alpha was going to allow him to pay for anything. The small fact that Yifan did have a job so he could afford to do so was not known to Suho but for the time being he would just happily keep on following everything through. Plus, if the omega was actually truthful with himself, it was nice to be spoilt by an alpha, one that he didn’t automatically presume wanted something in returned for this. There had been a few cases of this in the past where young alphas had tried to treat him either at arranged school meetings or as part of therapy but most of the time it had not gone well in the slightest. There was one alpha who had proven to be genuinely honest and kind with him, as he too already had a mate from a young age and was no threat in the slightest but he was currently away and wouldn’t be back for a little while. 

Yifan made a mental note to tell Suho about him as soon as possible because he did not want there to be a misunderstanding. Luhan had mistaken Kevin’s friendly nature for something else and had practically beaten the poor alpha to within an inch of his life before his human mind kicked in to realize that the other wasn’t fighting back. Strangely that little hiccup of a meeting hadn’t stopped them from becoming good friends and the omega just gave up trying to figure out the dynamics of alpha friendships. They were even more complicated than those of Beta’s and that was enough to give him a headache and a half. 

Suho tugged Yifan upstairs to see the little flat that was made exclusively for Hello Kitty and Yifan practically melted with how cute it all was. It was like walking into a perfect little princess flat with everything set out exactly how it should be and it was all adorable. There were little cupboards that held plates, cups and saucers which all matched up perfectly, a table with a pink flower set up in a vase and a proper style oven that was pink and covered in flowers. That was just the kitchenette too, the living room was all tiny little pink sofas with a large TV and a bookshelf filled with a selection of books that were mainly Hello Kitty but a few other ones which were perfect for a little girl to be reading. The bedroom was by far Yifan’s favourite however because there was a little pink four poster bed, a matching set of drawers and a wardrobe which held the most adorable dresses and over in the corner there was a toy boy filled perfectly as it was meant to be. 

Yifan sat down on the stool that was provided and let out a happy sigh, his eyes glistening beautifully with unshed tears and Suho hunched down next to him with a smile before wrapping his arms lightly around the figure, “I forgot how much you like Hello Kitty.” 

“You once bought spent several thousand won on a crane machine to get me a load of Hello Kitty dolls,” Yifan smiled as he recalled that, “And cause the post would have been too much you sent them all induvial so I had a new Hello Kitty sitting on my table when I got home.” 

Suho laughed, “Yeah, my mother went ballistic at me for that. But it was totally worth it, your face was adorable.” Realizing what he had said aloud, Suho blushed a little as he looked up towards Yifan, rubbing the back of his neck quietly, “Luhan acted a little as my spy and would take photos of you getting your parcels and send them to me. It was why he was forever having to beg for more data or work overtime to pay the bill back as he got older.” 

Staring at the now blushing alpha, Yifan didn’t know if he should be flattered, worried, embarrassed or just really happy right now because the very idea of Luhan being involved in something like that for him was just an amazing thought. It was even more amazing that Suho was prepared to put up with everything that Yifan had put him through and a stab of guilt went through his heart. Instead of pulling away from the other and trying to escape however, Yifan did something which he hadn’t done in a long while. He turned around on the stool and wrapped his arms tightly around Suho, burying his face into the crook of the others neck so that he could inhale the deep scent which would forever calm and sooth him. “I’m sorry, Suho,” he whispered quietly, “I’m so sorry.” 

“What for, my little omega?” Suho asked, gently flicking his ears though he naturally returned the hug and started to stroke lazy circles on the others broad back. 

Yifan gulped, “You’ve always been so good to me and I’ve barely returned anything to you.” 

Suho sighed gently, before lightly nipping at Yifan’s ears in order to get the omega to look at him, “Yifan, you’ve returned more to me that you know.” 

“But,” Yifan started before a finger was placed on his lips and their dark eyes locked together for what felt like the longest moment in the entire world even though it was barely a couple of seconds. 

Looking at the other right now, with his wide innocent eyes, beautiful sharp features and a gentle nature about him, Suho couldn’t help but sigh a little in contentment. “I couldn’t ask for another like you, ever, I wanted to protect you from the very moment that my eyes landed on you and the fact that you let me, have waited for me even though it was one of the most painful things in the entire world, that is more than return of everything that I shall do for you. Not many would be prepared to wait eight years for their mate to come back to them, many would sever the connection by finding someone else but you didn’t. You remained faithful to me and I to you.” 

Blinking slowly, Yifan looked down, “Who else could I have trusted with my heart?” 

Guessing that was supposed to be a rather damning statement that had come out a little wrong, Suho gently lifted Yifan’s chin and grinned, “Well, let’s just say that I’m still working on getting it and go back to having a fluffy first date.” Before Yifan could argue, their lips met again in a quick kiss and Suho managed to get the flustered looking omega to take a selfie with him in the designated couple spot. Granted he had to practically force the other to hug the large Hello Kitty doll and then Suho had to hug Yifan so in the selfie half of his head was missing from the shot itself but Suho did not mind. 

He did get a sudden surprise however when just as he was about to pull away, Yifan returned the selfie favour by catching hold of the alpha to pull him back for a hug and a quick snap so that their positions were reversed but refused point blank to show Suho the picture. They playfully squabbled about it all the way out of the café, missing the looks from the other customers which ranged from amusement to squeals of cuteness and it wasn’t until they were outside that they even realized themselves what they had done. Yifan blushed beet red but Suho just looped his arm around the others waist and chuckled, “You’re not that embarrassing I am?” 

“Yes,” Yifan said, looking away, “You are.” 

“Well I’m allowed to get happy when my mate pulls me into a random selfie and then refuses to show it to me,” Suho replied chuckling before noticing that Yifan was staring back up at the café with a fond expression in his eyes, “We’ll come back here, I promise you.” 

A hum came back at his reply, “Oh I know, I was just thinking.” 

“What about?” Suho asked casually. 

“If we were to ever have a little girl, could we make her room completely Hello Kitty themed?” 

It took a good few seconds for Joonmyeon to process that statement and he choked loudly on the air. He was only a little thankful that he did not have a drink which he had been taking a gulp out of at the time because he was sure that it would have just been splattered all over himself, Yifan or an innocent passerby. He shook his head and blinked his eyes repeatedly before stepping in front of a concerned looking omega and managed to inhale a deep breath, “Did you just…” 

“What?” Yifan asked before blinking and frowning before realization hit and he stiffened up immediately. 

Suho caught hold of the other before he could run away, “It’s okay, Yifan, it’s okay. Breathe, you’re fine you’re okay…” 

Shaking his head, Yifan practically began to collapse in on himself in the street and Suho glanced around in a panic before thankfully spotting something that could help. He grabbed hold of Yifan and dragged him over to a shaded park bench, setting the hyperventilating omega down onto it and quickly removing his jacket which he put softly over the other’s head. “Yifan, Fanfan, I need you to breathe okay? I need you to just focus on my voice, and calm down. You’ve said nothing wrong and I’m not upset about it in the slightest.” 

Yifan shook his head, hating the fact that there were large fat tears streaming down his face and horrible sounding sobs coming out of his mouth. He really needed to get it to together, to stop acting like an irrational baby over saying something so stupid when he knew that it was something perfectly natural for his kind to say. He was an omega for god sake, he was supposed to think of raising children, to make future plans with his mate for everything but he just felt so guilty and terrible for thinking of a future when he was basically still fucking up his present. Suho stared at the sobbing omega in front of him and pulled the jacket a little further over his head in order to hide him further, he knew that there were no words that he could offer right now, other than repeating the same statements over and over again like a mantra but instinctively he knew that was not what Yifan needed right now. 

His little omega needed to cry, needed to get these terrible negative feelings out of his heart and then have someone there to just hug him afterwards. Of course, he was curious to know why that statement would have caused this reaction from Yifan, he had several guesses as to why he would be freaking out like this but he couldn’t be certain over which one that was plaguing Yifan right now. So, he would remain there for the time being, resting gently and allowing Yifan to dictate how this was all going to happen. It was hard, extremely hard for the alpha to see his precious omega so upset by this all but physical contact was not wanted right now, that much he knew. He couldn’t let Yifan think that he was beginning to physically push him away when the other clearly still needed so much help in the world but the urge to cuddle and protect this rather large, confused bundle was certainly there. Suho repressed the feelings however and forced himself to focus because if he didn’t then it could all go very wrong, very fast and that was a scenario that he wanted to avoid at all costs. 

It took what felt like an eternity for Yifan to calm down enough so that he could form semi-coherent sentences but Suho knew to just smile gently at the other and let him choose what he wanted to say. Or not, it was completely up to the omega at this point because whilst he knew fine well that he had the others trust, there were some things that would take time to come to the surface and Suho did not want to push Yifan away. It was a delicate balancing game, one that would take a lot of steps to get right and there would be mistakes made along the way. However, Suho was following his instincts at the moment and was glad that in the past he had been there for Yifan’s panic attacks in the past. It meant that he had a grounding of what to do and for once did not have to run off and try to find a responsible adult, or Luhan, to help calm Yifan down. 

After a few long moments of silence, Yifan sniffed loudly, “Do you have…a handkerchief?” 

Suho dug into his pockets and produced one, passing it straight up to Yifan with a soft smile, “Always.” 

“Thanks,” Yifan said quietly, before blowing his nose loudly and wiping at his eyes. He looked completely miserable as he rested his hands down on his lap, not offering the white handkerchief back because of hygiene reasons as it really was all covered in his gross snots. He sighed, feeling completely and totally stupid because he had just gone and wrecked the date which Suho had planned all because of his stupid messed up feelings and it just immediately wanted to make him cry again. Why couldn’t he just sort himself out, why was it always such a mess like this? He really couldn’t stand it, and he couldn’t understand how anyone could put up with him in the slightest. He was a big crybaby who freaked out over nothing and put everyone that he cared for and loved into situations that were going to wear them down and make their lives just a little harder. He needed to get it together, needed to stop being such an emotional idiot but he couldn’t find the strength and the courage to do so in the slightest. 

Just when he thought that things were possibly getting a little bit better, he would go and screw it all up again. 

Jumping in surprise when the handkerchief touched his skin again, Yifan found his teary vision filled by nothing more than the loving face of Suho who smiled gently at him, “Do you want me to get you some sugary drink? You’re beginning to look a little pale and I don’t want to explain to your mother about how I let you pass out.” 

Opening his mouth to say something, Yifan just nodded his response instead and took the handkerchief back from Suho, guilt still plaguing his system. But all his beloved little Guardian did was to smile, lift himself up from his uncomfortable position to press a light little kiss to his forehead and say, “Okay, there’s a shop just across the road so I’ll be in there and I’ll be back in five minutes. If you feel the need to hide further, there’s a little bus stop over there with a shelter, go there and I’ll come find you okay?” 

Nodding automatically, Yifan watched as Suho walked off and wondered once again if the other was really real or not. Of course, he knew the answer because there would just be no way that his imagination could create someone like Suho in the slightest but at times he really felt as though he was living in a dream when it came to the kind-hearted alpha. Letting out a huff, Yifan leaned back on the bench and allowed his head to painfully bash against the metal sign behind him, “You idiot, you fucking idiot,” he scolded himself quietly under his breath, “Why can’t you just…why? Why does it have to be...?” 

Tears began to roll down his cheeks again and Yifan leaned forward, uncaring for the fact that he still had the jacket over his head and brought his hands up to his face to try and stop crying. “Stop it, stop it, you’re being a fucking idiot and you know it. Why does this have to be all screwed up, why can’t I have a life like everyone else? What did I do to deserve this? Why did he…why did he screw everything up? Why can’t I just…just…” 

His self mutterings went completely unanswered of course but Yifan found that for the moment they kept him just a little bit grounded and stopped the natural urge he had to go running off into the bus shelter that Suho had mentioned. He had already screwed up this wonderful, silly, cute date with his overly harsh negative emotions, he didn’t need to add a panic rush around on top of that. Unfortunately, Yifan knew the bus timetable of that particular stop and if he went anywhere near it, he could easily get a bus to all sorts of places to be alone without even thinking about it. But he just couldn’t’ do that to Suho, it would be a horrible thing for him to do and he would rather not screw it all up again. 

“Fanfan-Gege?” a soft little voice suddenly broke through his mental degradation and he looked up in surprise. 

A little girl was standing a few feet away from him, her hair done into a set of nice little plaits and she was wearing a soft little summer dress in a light blue with a white undershirt that reached all the way to her fingers practically. She had on matching white tights and blue shoes with little ribbons on them and her smile was bright, cheerful and so innocently wonderful that Yifan for a second felt as though he shouldn’t be seeing this girl. “It is you, Fanfan-Gege!” the little girl cried, suddenly rushing forward to give him a hug, “I knew it was you!” 

Startled by the little girls move, Yifan was confused for a few seconds before looking up to see the girl’s mother who was giving an exasperated and overly dramatic sigh that was actually highly cute. He recognized her as Mrs. Xi, one of the parents from a local day care which he helped out at from time to time and his sob ridden brain finally realized that the little girl in his arms was actually Sophia. Gently the girl pulled back, her golden ears fluttering in happiness and she smiled brightly at him, “It’s been so long, Fanfan-Gege, aren’t you ever coming back to Hummingbirds?” 

“Sophia,” Mrs. Xi chided playfully, “Don’t be so rude.” 

Yifan shook his head towards the woman, wiping away the tears and shamefully taking off the jacket from his head, “It’s fine, Mrs. Xi, it has been a long time since I’ve been actually.” 

It had only been a week, but to a little girl like Sophia that would seem to be an age. Sophia pouted up at him, “When are you coming back, Fanfan-Gege? Everyone is missing you and Ms. Go don’t play the way you do.” 

A half laugh escaped from Yifan as he reached out to pet the girl, “You have to be nice to Ms. Go, Sophia, she has her troubles too you know.” 

“I know but even Chujeon is playing up again because you’re not at Hummingbirds,” Sophia pouted rather dramatically, “and if he plays up then we don’t get a good nap time and you know that’s a bad bad thing right, Fanfan-Gege?” 

Hummingbirds was a daycare come school for children of both human and wolf classification, who had a variety of problems which ranged from a slight OCD disorder to autism, mental health issues, physical health issues, specialty diets and even a few cases of abuse victims who were trying to integrate back into society. Kevin had been the one to introduce Yifan to the service, when the other was trying to find some kind of employment and whilst Yifan had been unsure of the idea of working that closely with so many cubs, he had quickly become a class favourite and he found that he loved the job so much that once his initial placement had been completed he had asked if he could apply as a full-time member of staff. 

Naturally they had snapped him up within seconds and it had been one of the main factors in helping his recovery. It had also partially been the reason why eighteen months ago he had started to request seeing the pictures and videos of his own sons, because he had seen how much happier the cubs and children were when they were with people that they loved and cherished. When the feelings were returned it never mattered what problems they had, or what their status was, it was the family bond that kept everyone going. 

Sophia was a little golden wolf who had troubles with epilepsy and an aversion to loud sounds as her ears were rather sensitive, but other than that she was a very sweet little girl who had been one of the many who had wormed her way into Yifan’s protected little heart and if given the chance he would do anything for her. Right now, he smiled at the girl, “Well you can tell Chujeon that if he doesn’t start behaving then he won’t get any stories about fairies when I get back.” 

“When will you be back though, Fanfan-Gege?” Sophia asked, pouting a little, “You’ve been gone and age.” 

Yifan smiled sadly, “In a few weeks, Sophia, I’m meeting with someone very important at the moment and I need time with him.” 

“Why are you crying?” Sophia asked suddenly, also one of her traits where she could switch topics without realizing it in the slightest, “did those mean boys come and make you cry again?” 

The mean boys were actually a bunch of solicitors whom Yifan wanted nothing to do with because he was not ready to deal with anything that related to the man who had destroyed his life. It was one of the few times that the elder omega had had a full breakdown in front of the children at Hummingbirds and he still felt as guilty as hell over it. Quickly he shook his head, “No, it’s not that Sophia. It’s a grown-up problem that you won’t understand yet sweetie.” 

“But Fanfan-Gege sad and he shouldn’t be,” Sophia pouted dramatically, “Fanfan-Gege is always happy.” 

“Don’t worry, little one,” Suho’s voice drifted into the conversation as he reappeared with a couple of bottles of pop and a bag of sweets, “I’ll make sure your Fanfan-Gege is happy before we go home.” 

Sophia blinked at the new arrival, recognizing his status and flicking her ears, “Who are you, Mister?” 

“Sophia,” her mother scolded lightly, “Be polite. I apologies, sometimes she gets like this.” 

“It’s perfectly fine,” Suho replied, bowing to her as he passed Yifan one of the coke bottles, “My name is Joonmyeon and I’m Yifan’s future mate.” 

The little girl opened her eyes and mouth wide before she suddenly turned to look at the embarrassed Yifan, “Fanfan-Gege!” she cried, “You didn’t tell us that you had found your prince!” 

Looking a little bashful, Yifan ducked his head, “Well…I wasn’t sure and…” 

“Oh, I’m sorry are you two on a date?” Mrs. Xi asked before catching hold of her daughter’s hand, “Come on, Sophia, we can’t interrupt something so important. Sorry if we’ve caused you any problems at all.” 

“It’s okay,” Yifan said as he took a sip out of his drink, “I’ve always said that she can come and say hi to me if she spots me in the street.” 

“Hmm, I guess I’ll be getting to know you a little better then, Miss. Sophia?” Suho said gently towards the girl who suddenly turned a light shade of pink and hid behind her mother before Mrs. Xi sighed playfully and set off to continue doing her shopping with a smile which clearly said her unspoken thanks. 

Suho waved the pair off with a bright smile before turning back to Yifan and sitting down next to him, “Feeling better?” 

Nodding a little, Yifan took a long gulp out of his pop and nearly jumped when a Whisper bar was placed in his hands, “I don’t need this much sugar, Suho.” 

“You’ve cried your eyes out and I know you get exhausted after that,” Suho replied, slipping an arm around Yifan to encourage the other to lay his head on his shoulder, “Since we’re a bit far out I thought it best to get some sugar into you and then we can head home.” 

Humming lightly, Yifan took another swig from his bottle before setting it down, “Sorry for ruining your date.” 

“You haven’t ruined it Yifan,” Suho replied, kissing the tips of his ears once again, “I said I was here for the best and the worst, right? You’re not losing me that easily.” 

They fell silent again for a bit, just allowing the sun to play through the trees and gentle caress them as the world flowed around them without a care for their situation. Like there was nothing out of place with them just sitting on a bench, in the middle of town, enjoying the quiet that somehow existed. 

It was Yifan who broke the silence first, “Aren’t you going to ask?” 

“About what?” Suho replied to the question after he finished taking a drink of his own. 

“Well…” Yifan gulped audibly, sinking a little further into Suho’s side. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Suho asked gently, carding his fingers through the others black hair. 

Yifan shook his head and huffed out a sigh, “Eventually.” 

“Okay, but not right now,” Suho said and then he smiled gently, realizing there was a topic he could cover. “So, tell me, whose Sophia?” 

Caught off guard by the question, Yifan blinked and shifted a little before settling down again and chuckling lightly. “She’s one of the girls from Hummingbirds, you know the little job I told you about, in my letters once.” 

“Oh, you still work there?” Suho asked, smiling gently now, “That’s good to know.” 

“Yeah, got a full-time job there but took a month off to be with you,” Yifan replied, blushing immediately again which seemed to just be a full-time thing with him right now. He took another swig of pop, “When I go back I start my child care NVQ, it’s working out good for me.” 

Suho smiled and gently kissed the top of Yifan’s head, “That’s excellent. So proud of you.” 

For a long while the pair were content to just sit on bench, Yifan cuddled in protectively to Suho and finding that he did not mind it in the slightest. Softly he let out a breath through his nose and nuzzled closer, enjoying the scent of the Alpha and allowing his innermost turmoil to be calmed by the others presence. He still felt bad for ruining the date by having a complete freak out but he had to be secretly happy that Joonmyeon wasn’t running away from him. There had been loads of people who had tried to be his friend only to make their excuses faster than anything once they had witnessed just how bad Yifan could get when he was upset. But there again, Suho had always been the one to stick by him, even when times were tough. 

He remembered when they were kids, the first time he had had contact with his mother and elder brother after the incident and he had completely freaked out. Too many emotions had gone through his little body at the time, making him lash out, scream, cry and fight anything or anyone who had wanted to come near him. That was until his Suho appeared, and the small alpha had quite simply barged through the throng of adults who were trying to settle Yifan down and wrapped a protective hug around the frightened omega. He had held on tightly, refusing to let go no matter how much Yifan hit, bit and kicked at him until finally the fright left his body completely. He had flopped in the others hold and allowed himself to be washed with the scent of safety and peace that always came with the other and had relaxed. 

Luhan had been in tears, confused as to why another alpha had been able to calm his brother down but had quickly composed himself. It had taken a further three visits for Yifan to stop freaking out and recognise the pair for who they truly were and each time Suho would be there to help keep him calm. It had been wonderful the first time he had been hugged by Luhan and his mother, when his brain stopped trying to trick him with horrible images of what would happen to them because he had seen them but secretly he always preferred Joonmyeon’s scent. 

It was practically indescribable to the omega, because it was just everything that made him feel happy and relaxed all rolled into one. It was one of the reasons why he was so careful with everything that Suho had sent him over the years, wanting nothing more than to just wrap himself in that wonderful smell forever. Now he actually had the other here with him, could wrap himself in the scent whenever he wanted and that was something that just made butterflies run throughout every last part of his mind, body and soul. 

Yifan still felt terrible about ruining the date however and made up his mind to try and make up for it. He looked up towards Suho through his eyelashes, noticing that the alpha appeared to be so content like this and it almost made the black haired omega stop for a moment or two but he shook his head and quickly made up his mind. “Joonmyeon?” he asked quietly, “Do you still have some free time today or do you have to go home after this?” 

Shaking his head, the black eared alpha smiled, “Nope, I’ve got all day to spend with you. Do you have any plans?” 

A tiny smile crossed Yifan’s face, “Not really. I’ve got something that I need to do however, I just don’t know what you’ll think of it.” 

“I really don’t mind,” Suho replied, stroking the white ears with affection, “as long as I’m with you...” 

“Stop being cheesy, I don’t think I could stomach it,” Yifan sighed before pulling himself away from Suho with a little reluctance and a desperately tried to be hiding smile. 

A chuckle came from Suho as he stood next to Yifan and reached up to squeeze his cheek, “Sorry, I can’t help it when you’re so adorable.” 

Shaking his head as he sighed, Yifan kept his eye-line low out of nothing more than habit and found that he did not have it in his heart to come up with some kind of retort to that particular statement. Gently he interlaced his fingers with Suho and started off down the path that would lead him to an all too familiar track. It was funny to think that the number of times he had walked down here, he had never once even considered the option of heading to the Hello Kitty Cafe but put it down to the simple fact that it would look a bit strange to go in by himself. Sure, he was an omega but even so it was a little on the strange side. 

Suho happily began humming that song from High School Wolf Musical as they walked, enjoying the comfortable silence that could exist between them and Yifan had to admit that he was enjoying it as well. It was strange, that something as mundane as just walking along the street, hand in hand with the man who was his mate in all but the official claim mark, could feel so precious and lovely. Yifan suddenly began to understand why there was always happy smiles on the faces of the omegas that he saw walking around. This was indeed a nice feeling, one that kept him grounded and made him feel as though life was worthwhile. He guessed that this was what it meant to be happy, to have the other half of your soul with you at all times and he could only hope that he could break through his stupid anxieties and worries to be everything like the perfect mate that Suho needed and deserved. 

He wanted Suho to say he was proud of him, to be his reliable rock when time got hard and to make it so that the world would be theirs to conquer. Yifan wanted one day to not freak out over the idea that he would have his own cubs and family with Suho, he didn’t even know how he could possibly begin to even explain what he was feeling to Suho when he said those words. It was certainly something that should not really be uttered on a first date, but realistically they were long past that statement. A mental sigh ran around his head but he chose not to state it out loud because he was really not ready to mess up anything more about today. He could get his worries over the all the couple things and future planning when they got to that stage.   
As of now he had to take little baby steps and not get himself all worked up. 

They were well into the shopping district before Suho stopped humming and glanced around, “I thought you hated shopping?” 

“I do,” Yifan said, glad that he was not turning into a shaking leaf with the number of people around because of a streak of paranoia that always lingered that he would be lurking around somewhere in the crowd to steal him away, “But we’re not staying in these streets for long.” 

“Where are we going?” Suho asked, as Yifan pulled off the main street and started down a long winding one that had a smaller selection of shops in comparison to the ones that were jammed back on the main strip but each one had much more floor space. Suho blinked as he passed them by, seeing that each one was completely different from the next and all of them had a variety of unique items for sale. There was a pet shop that had a wide selection of fashions for dogs, cats and guinea pigs as well as fashionable collars which he was pretty sure that he had seen some younger wolves wearing recently. The next shop along was a garden paradise with large pots of blooming flowers and a selection of brightly coloured trowels on display and a sale sign proclaiming that there were no other tools like this anywhere else in the world. Next to that was a noodle bar that proclaimed to have the healthiest noodles ever and a little boutique that held a selection of clothes that were as unusual as they were brightly coloured. 

There was a book shop next that immediately caught Suho’s attention because the place looked to be huge and smelt wonderful. He had always been a fan of the smell of books, and this shop appeared to have hundreds upon hundreds of books held within a variety of shelves that were virtually groaning with the weight to stay up. His eyes lingered longingly on the heavy set spines and he accidentally tripped over the kerb because he was looking so intently at the books. Yifan glanced back and then grinned, “Oh, I forgot you liked books.” 

“There’s so many of them,” Suho replied, clearly still enamoured, “I could spend hours in there.” 

“And you will,” Yifan said, squeezing Suho’s hand, “but only after I’ve done what I need, okay?” 

Blinking, Suho pouted cutely towards his boyfriend but smiled brightly towards him afterwards, “Is that a promise?” 

“Yes,” Yifan said meekly, “It’s just the shop that I need has a funny closing time so I want to go there before I let you lose in that book shop.” 

“I should have brought a bigger bag,” Suho lamented playfully as Yifan tugged him past the shop, “There’ll be a load of books in there that I want.” 

Lightly rolling his eyes, Yifan sighed, “Well just remember that you’re currently just in your old room. You haven’t got a massive room to call a library yet.”

Suho blinked and stared at Yifan, “How did you know I wanted a library in my house?” 

“You always used to have one,” Yifan said, looking back towards Suho, “Whenever we would play house, you always had to have a library to put all of your books in.” 

The alpha blinked, “I played house with you?” 

“Yes, hundreds of times,” Yifan shook his head, “Don’t you remember the time when we attempted to build a library using cardboard boxes and accidentally gave Luhan a bump on the head when the boxes fell over and handed on him?”

For a second or two, Suho did not know how to respond but then he recalled the incident and felt an odd sort of blush cross his face. “Oh yeah, that time. I ended up having to play nurse maid to him for a fortnight, afterwards didn’t I?” 

“You practically volunteered,” Yifan replied dryly though he chuckled for a second, “I think my mother still has the photos of you in the apron and headband actually.” 

Letting out a series of stuttering noises, Suho rushed to catch up with Yifan and make him promise to never show anyone those pictures in any circumstances ever and it wasn’t long before they were back in their gentle pace walk, with hands interlinked.   
The display of the front of the shop was filled with all sorts of stationary the likes of which Suho was pretty sure that he had never even seen in the City. It was all very original, cute, and had him feeling as though he was a little kid about to go and buy his school supplies for the first time all over again. Each and every last piece was bright, colourful and seemed to match with everything around it whilst being completely different at the same time. The themes ranged from Ballerinas, Princesses and Fairies to Knights, Superhero’s and Racing cars. What was more interesting was the fact that there was a cross over in the themes, to allow both girls and boys to purchase them with no clear distinction between the two. 

Suho was particularly drawn to a fluffy wolf shaped pencil case but was tugged away by Yifan who had a soft smile on his face, “No.” 

“What?” Suho replied, pouting a little and automatically understanding what the response was in regard to, “Why?” 

“Because I already have that one and virtually all the others,” Yifan replied with a shy little smile. 

A blink passed across Suho’s face, “Oh? Really, who got you them?” 

“Yixing,” Yifan replied with a shy little smile, “He was the one who found this place and he kept on buying them for me. He thought they were plushi’s.” 

“Isn’t Yixing Kyungsoo’s friend?” Suho asked, trying to recall if that was right or not. 

Yifan nodded, “Yeah he is but he was involved in Hummingbirds for a while and attended one of the extra classes with me because he’s got...well some problems. So, he’s my friend too.” 

“Oh, that’s nice,” Suho nodded, “I take it he’s an omega like you and Kyungsoo?” 

The omega shook his head, his eyes darting over the shelves with a curious gaze, “No. He’s an alpha.” 

“An alpha?” Suho half stammered, “But you...” 

“An extremely soft, fluffy, unicorn obsessed alpha who barely remembers that he is one,” Yifan quickly put in with a smile. 

“But he’s still an alpha,” Suho said, looking a little bit on the crossed side. 

Yifan sighed and leaned in close to whisper, “He’s got physical problems to.” 

At the raised eyebrow look that he received from his potential mate, Yifan sighed and found two things running through his heart. The first was a little frustration because he knew that Yixing was completely harmless and wouldn’t harm another living being if he could avoid it in the slightest. Hell, he had gone into a full crying fit after having to pull a spelk out of one of the children at Hummingbirds because the little brat had made such a fuss over it all even though it did not need to be that was in the slightest. The other emotion that ran through Yifan’s heart was a glowing sense of pride that Suho really was that protective over him and did not trust the fact that another alpha was near his omega. It caused the most wonderful butterflies to flutter throughout his whole system and he would have easily blushed if not for the fact that he was trying to quell the potential concern and rage that could come from Suho. 

“Yixing’s got the body and power of an alpha but the mind of an omega,” Yifan whispered gently to Suho. 

The alpha by his side blinked repeatedly in shock. Whilst the condition was rare, it was one of the better known ones and it was something that certainly explained how the other had acted. It was more common to hear of omega’s who had the mind of alphas as they tended to get themselves into a whole lot of troublesome situations but he should have figured that there would be the opposite. It was certainly food for thought and he lowered his head a little, “Sorry.”  
“It’s no problem,” Yifan said with a small smile, “Many people don’t believe it when they first hear it either. Come on.” 

Suho nodded and followed along behind the omega towards the back of the shop where there was a selection of fantasy themed stationary with matching papers, envelopes and little drawer sets that were adorable. There was a load of cartoon knights who were proclaiming to look after the kingdom, a king and the queen who were most beloved, a prince who looked a little on chubby side and a glorious princess. But Suho’s eyes were drawn to another section of the display which had a whole host of different mythological creatures and it did not take him long to pick out exactly which stationary that Yifan was after. 

There was a red dragon with pink on its wings and little light frills that was carefully guarding three brightly coloured eggs, one yellow, one green and the other a pale blue and there was another much larger dragon guarding the small little family. This one was a deep dark purple colour with black spines and tips to its wings but it wore a crown on top of his head. It took Suho a few seconds to spot that the mother dragon was wearing a crown of pearls and blue jewels and he grinned, “Dragon Kingdom!”   
It was Yifan’s turn to stare at Suho with scrutiny but the smaller man just smiled back at him, “

“What?” 

“Dragon Kingdom,” Suho said with a knowing smile, “I just figured out where the cubs got that idea from.” 

Yifan paled considerably, then blushed a bright red and looked down towards the floor with an embarrassed, “How do you know about that?” 

Gently Suho wrapped his arm around Yifan’s middle and hugged into him, “Yesterday at the party I gave the cubs some cookies which came from the Dragon Kingdom. They had to tell me because Kyungsoo got distracted so I made a mistake and said form the Fairies. It proved to be quite the conversation I can tell you.” 

Blinking repeatedly, Yifan sighed, “I... I don’t know what to say.”

“Just don’t worry about it,” Suho said, pressing a little kiss to the side of Yifan’s neck, “I think it’s adorable and a good thing.” 

“Really?” Yifan shyly asked, picking up a notepad of the dragon queen paper and some matching envelopes. 

Suho nodded and watched as his precious omega continued to scan the rest of the display with bright eyes, “Indeed. You’re letting your cubs know that you’re there for them, that you love them and that one day you will see them in person without any fears. They must adore the whole little concept you’ve got cause they openly told me about it and they’re know that the Dragon Queen is their Mummy.” 

Having tensed up a little at those words, Yifan felt as though he was about to bolt out of the door once again before Suho once again pressed a kiss to his neck and immediately he calmed down. It was still a very strange sensation to feel himself relaxed because his alpha was so close, but he supposed at some point he’d get used to it. Mentally he scolded himself for not really talking to other omegas about how it was with their alphas but then figured that realistically he hadn’t been ready for those sorts of discussions. There were a lot of things that he still wasn’t ready for and he still did not quite understand how he could be so open with Suho. He pushed aside those thoughts for now however and sighed, “It was just supposed to be a thing on their birthday and for Christmas but...hey! What are you doing?” 

Whilst Yifan had been having his little mental worries, Suho had picked up another pack of paper along with matching envelopes and a couple of pens that were also decorated with the King and Queen dragon. He seemed to be debating about some stickers that came with the set as well and was even holding onto a dragon themed pencil case without apparently noticing that he had picked it up in the slightest. Blinking, the alpha looked up at the omega and smiled, “Well it’d make sense for the cubs Daddy to start sending them messages since he’s come back to protect and love their mother, wouldn’t it?” 

Instead of turning to run or have a panic attack or something along those lines, Yifan instead found his eyes welling up with tears that silently dripped down his face. He thought that he may burst into them, have a crying fit that would cripple him emotionally and drain him of everything because in every sense of the word this was completely insane and crazy. Instead, tears rolled down his face in a slow fashion and it took Yifan a few long seconds to realise that he was crying tears of joy. His heart swelled and he found himself turning to fully embrace Suho, constantly chanting the same two words over and over again as he hid his face in the crook of the others neck. “Thank you,” he said, “thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

Smiling as he held the rather large omega, waving his hands in dismissal towards a curious Suho gently guided him to a seat that was brought across and allowed Yifan to just curl up into his lap as if he were a tiny cub. It was probably the most awkward set up ever and the balancing act was probably not the most easiest in the slightest either but neither one of them cared. Joonmyeon was happy to be able to guard and protect his omega, to snuggle with him whilst he was in a state that was not quite sadness or joy and he enjoyed the intimately on every last level. Yifan was happy to accept the protection, to feel so connected to his alpha even though he was tainted, wronged and had cubs by another. Just the very real thought that they were together, that they would get through this as a pair and even though it would take forever and a day, they would be a family. 

Joonmyeon smiled and began randomly humming, accepting a basket from the shop assistant to put their purchases in and just rocked Yifan back and forth. He placed hundreds of kisses on the side of his head and face and chuckled lightly, “Please tell me that you honestly did not think that I would push you aside because you had those precious little cubs?” 

Unable to reply because his throat was clogged up with the tears that he was still crying, Yifan nodded repeatedly and made a little noise. Joonmyeon managed to tilt his head enough so that he could place a little kiss onto Yifan’s before lightly biting his nose, “Oh, baby, we’re going to have to have a long talk sometime soon and get rid of all these little insecurities that you have.” 

Yifan nodded and swallowed a little excess phlegm in this throat, “I’m sorry for them...” 

“It’s fine, my little one,” Joonmyeon replied and kissed his nose again, “Now, are we going to stay here, as a crying mess in the middle of the shop for the rest of the afternoon or should we pay up, go home and snuggle on the couch?” 

A look came his way and Joonmyeon giggled, “Well okay, go and be sensible at your house then. I haven’t caught up with your mother yet and she’ll kick my tail if I don’t and plus I want to annoy Luhan a little by proving that I am yours forever.” 

“You do know he’s stopped doing that, right?” Yifan said, accepting another handkerchief from Joonmyeon before blinking, “how many of these do you have?” 

“On me?” Joonmyeon did a mental little head count, “three. I’ve got like six others as home.” 

Raising an eyebrow towards the other, Yifan let out a little bit of a giggle before hugging back into Joonmyeon, “Thank you.” 

“Is that all you’re going to say for the rest of the day?” Joonmyeon smiled before getting back up onto his feet and helping Yifan to stand. With a just about repressed squee, Joonmyeon lent forward to give Yifan an Eskimo kiss and lightly pinch at his cheeks. “Come on, Mama Dragon, let’s get these bought and then we can get you home before I make you cry anymore today.” 

“It’s really not your fault,” Yifan whispered, looking down at the floor again, “It’s me who’s the broken one.” 

“And I’ll be the one who’ll fix you all back up,” Joonmyeon replied, squeezing the others hand tightly in reassurance before passing the basket over to the cashier to make their purchases. 

A little giggle made his black ears twitch and he looked towards his mate with a raised eyebrow. Yifan continued to giggle before shaking his head, “How many pens did you buy?” 

“Huh?” looking at the bag which the cashier had filled and the price that was clearly displayed on the till, a bright red flush crossed Joonmyeon’s face because he had not realised that he had dropped nearly twenty pens into the basket. For a second he panicked but then he grinned, “Well the boys need pens for school work, right? So, Daddy Dragon can send them some because he owes them a lot of presents.” 

Smiling at that thought, Yifan shook his head and contained the squeal of adoration that wanted to desperately escape his lips. Instead he just happily linked his hands back with Joonmyeon’s as they exited the shop and blatantly ignored the coos coming from the shop assistants. They headed down the familiar roads in a comfortable silence and headed to collect Suho’s car which had been parked as they remembered that he had actually taken it to the hospital car park. Thankfully he had paid over the odds for the parking so there was no ticket but if they had dawdled for five more minutes then there would have easily been a fine. 

As they were driving through the streets, Yifan curled up in the passenger seat and nodded off quickly but Joonmyeon figured that it was possibly due to the amount of crying the omega had done. He would make sure to take him home, get him tucked up in bed and then chat on to Yifan’s mother until either it got too late or Yifan woke up. It would be nice to catch up with Yulan, it had been a good month since he had last talked to her and there were so many things that they could exchange between themselves. The roads were fairly quiet which was surprising before the recently returned City wolf remembered that he was back in Wolf Territory where walking was preferable to driving unless it was over five miles or so to work. Shaking his head, he indicated and pulled into the familiar estate where he had spent most of his childhood. 

Before he could begin to reminisce about the old park where they would go and play on cold, wet days when there was no one else around just so that they could come home to a playful scolding, a large warm bath and some magic coco to stave off the inevitable colds that they would catch, whilst making a mental note to get the recipe off Yulan when he was talking to her, the interconnected car phone started ringing. 

Suho frowned, wondering who could possibly be calling him at this time of night and glanced at the caller ID display which showed up on the dashboard. It read simply as Kyungsoo and that immediately caused a spike of worry to go through his heart. “Hello, Soo? What’s up?” he asked as soon as the call connected through. 

There was a pause, “Are you with Kris?” 

“Yes, he’s asleep in the car with me,” Suho replied, now really concerned about what could possibly be going one, “what’s wrong?” 

Kyungsoo sighed long and hard before pausing for a fraction of a second as someone asked him to move along from wherever he was and Suho spotted a space which was free so he pulled over into it because whilst the handsfree was fine to use he got to the feeling that this was one of those calls that would knock him for six. Finally, after an agonizing thirty seconds, Kyungsoo came back on the line, “I’m sorry to call you but Mam and Dad are at work, Luhan’s already chipping in to come and get the other two and I just don’t know who else to call.” 

“Wait? What’s wrong the kids?” Suho asked, feeling his stomach churning and noticing the fact that Yifan had stirred and was slowly beginning to sit upright. 

“It’s Tao...” Kyungsoo said, his voice sounding strained and filled with tears which had a million and one thoughts racing through Suho’s mind. 

“What about Tao?” Suho prompted, practically hearing Yifan waking up one hundred per cent now and looking just as concerned as he felt.

“I had to take him to hospital straight after his wushu practice today...” 

“What? Why?” 

“Is he okay?” 

“What happened?” 

“Did someone attack him?” 

“Whoa, stop with the questions,” Kyungsoo yelled before letting out a sigh, “I don’t know how to tell you this other than to say...” 

“What?” both Joonmyeon and Yifan asked at the same time. 

“He’s in heat.”


	6. Chapter 5 - Profiles and Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For giggles, feel free to guess which profiles that Kyungsoo is looking at. One is really obvious, the others may be a bit dated by now but I'd love to hear what people think

Sighing as he swiped past another profile, Kyungsoo pouted as the app he was using began to buffer and once again found himself mentally cursing the rotten connection in the sports center where the triplets had their various afterschool activities. He knew why it was spotty and it would be perfectly easy for him to log onto the center WIFI but he had a paranoid feeling that the center watched whatever it was he was doing on his device. Only because the receptionist had once complimented him on his choice of fashion items which he had been viewing on a website on his phone and that had been more than freaky enough. Feeling his maroon ears twitch as the music beat picked up, Kyungsoo cast his eyes up with fondness towards the dance practice hall where his little brothers Sehun and Kai were learning a fast paced routine that was sure to wow anyone. He had never felt the need to call the pair his adopted brothers, because as far as he was concerned they had always been in his life and he would always protect and love them. 

Sure, he knew of their mother, hell he was even friends with the slightly older omega, but as far as he was concerned, the triplets were his baby brothers and he was going to look after them forever and a day. There were times when they completely drove him up the wall, caused havoc, wrecked his attempts at cooking or else just generally did something that got on his nerves but Kyungsoo also understood that he had pretty much done the same thing as them to his own parents. He still adored the trio to the ends of the earth and if anyone dared to try and hurt them, he would personally beat them to a living pulp. 

The dance was one of the ones that the pair were working on for an upcoming concert and it was mainly a group dance with occasional little bursts of solo performances which were taken up by the seniors of the dance troop. But there were four places where some of the more talented juniors got their five seconds of limelight and both Sehun and Kai had two of the spots. Kyungsoo had been so proud of the pair when he had heard that, hugging them tightly much to the pairs embarrassment or more correctly Kai’s because he always pretended to hate soppy girly stuff like kisses and cuddles even though he craved them more than anything else in the world at times. It was ten times worse at Dance Class for Kai as there was one of the other participants whom was his best friend and the most talented junior in the class. Lee Taemin was an adorable bundle of fluff, with blond hair and brown ears, who had dance skills that were enviable even by the seniors but he was so well mannered, gracious and kind that everyone adored him no end. 

Kai seemed to have a particular soft spot for the other and they had become fast friends. Kyungsoo and the other relatives had believed that Taemin was a Beta for the most part, because of his fine temperament and way that he dealt with everyone but it turned out that in fact he was an Alpha. Though how that had been revealed was a mixture of cute and terrifying. One of the girls, a bright, happy-go-lucky girl by the name of Sunny who was a friend to everyone, had come in to class one day in tears with her clothes mud splattered and her favourite doll missing a head. Taemin had asked who had done the act and then gone after the boys, knocking them out flat without even trying and returning the doll head to Sunny. He had played with Sunny for a week, the alpha not wanting the little Beta to be targeted anymore and they were still friends who tended to rough house whenever they got the chance because Sunny wanted to become as strong as Taemin. 

She had also been the one to drag Kai into their little group, liking to fuss over the omega boy whenever she could and share her collection of dolls with him. They even had play dates just for them so they could have a dollies tea party, which Sehun and Tao had both been very annoyed about once they found out. That was until they discovered that Taemin would frequently join in with the tea parties and then it became a running sort of joke between the trio. 

It had led to an interesting conversation between him and Tao, around a year ago, as the eldest of the trio had been the first to work out that Kai had potentially found his mate. Whilst it was perfectly possible for Alpha’s and omegas to just be friends, the youngster had noticed the subtle differences in the pairs interaction which had led to some polite conversations between both sets of parents. Kyungsoo had been a little surprised that Tao had figured it out but during the course of the conversation the youngster had let it slip that they were looking into finding out if the Dragon Queen was really their mummy and who they were. 

That had been a surprising stab to the gut but thankfully Luhan had stepped in and distracted the little cub. However now, Kyungsoo got why the cubs wanted to find their real mother and he could only pray that Kris would be strong enough to take it when the trio eventually figured it all out. 

Waving to the pair as they finished their practice, Kyungsoo smiled and glanced back down at his app to see that it had finally finished buffering and there were five new profiles for him to view. Whilst he had sworn to never use the OD Service, he had agreed with his parents that his next heat cycle would require him to be well out of the house. Whilst both Suho and Luhan would be of no threat to him, the increased level of Alpha presence plus the combination of trying to bring Kris into the lives of the cubs would just be a hindrance. Added to the fact that the cubs were reaching the age where they too would soon be beginning their own natural heat cycles, they didn’t want to trigger off an early on set heat. Most omegas began their heat cycles at the age of thirteen, but realistically it could occur any time after the age of twelve. 

Unfortunately, like a group of girls all living together and getting affected by each other’s monthly’s, omegas sharing accommodation – other than direct parent and child – tended to also trigger one another off as well. So, after a long talk, it had been decided that Kyungsoo would use one of the programs though he would get to choose which one it was and who he went with and the meet up would take place in a hotel recommended by the company. His parents had agreed to pay for the first year’s subscription, provided he liked the service, and Kyungsoo had agreed to go along with it. If only for the sake of his baby brothers. 

So now here he was, browsing profiles of some of the OD’s available alphas and trying not to get caught up in the whole craziness of the situation. Each profile he viewed was nearly torture because all of them had looked so good. The reputation of the OD was that they had some of the most handsome alphas on the match service and all of them were practically perfect in each and every way. Kyungsoo had barely started looking before he was drooling and he wondered how on Earth it was possible for him to be able to even begin to be able to choose one, let alone the five that were required for a meet and greet. The idea was that for a first time user, Kyungsoo would get to go to a group meeting with a bunch of other omegas and do a sort of speed date thing where they could meet all of the alphas that were present. Then from the answers that they would have, they could decide on two to go on a more exclusive date with independently of one another and then make a selection of which they would like to be their potential partner for the heat. There would be several other meet up and dates in-between, just to make the pair a little more comfortable with one another and then they would meet just before the omega’s heat started. 

To Kyungsoo the idea sounded a little like being inside some shojo-manga with all this crazy set up of how it was going to work, but he had agreed to go along with it so he was just going to have to stop fussing like a school girl and make his choices. The sooner the better. 

He just wished it wasn’t so hard because every profile he viewed made him feel like making weird happy noises because all of them were hot. There were a couple of cuties who were adorable but upon viewing further pictures they all suddenly turned into Adonis’s and it was just really...he didn’t want to say turning him on because hell that wasn’t right in the slightest but boy he wouldn’t mind any of them. 

The first profile he viewed was of a young man with sharp looking features that made him look like a gangster and not to be messed with, a very typical bad boy with tattoos and the harsh cold look of someone that would surely kill for whoever they ended up with. He had dark set eyes and a dangerous smirk that just melted the heart at first sight. However, looking further into the pictures that were available, Kyungsoo found himself looking at a much kinder looking man with long, naturally curly black hair and a wide happy smile that caused his eyes to crease up into beautiful little smiles of their own. The type of guy who was so loveable and squishable that it was amazing to think that they were the same person. Without realizing that he had hit like, Kyungsoo swiped to the next profile along. 

The next profile was definitely a cutie. Round face, soft eyes and a cheeky little smile that reminded him of a little boy who had been caught doing something that he shouldn’t have been but could get away with it because gosh darn he was so cute. He had longer hair, always styled into a form of attractive bob that made him look quite girlish but not in a way that distracted too much and Kyungsoo just got warm feelings from looking at his photos. His hair colour changed dramatically from black, to silver to a current dark blond that made him look a little like a lion but definitely worked. Another one on the like list. 

Kyungsoo nearly choked when he came to the next profile because the guy was indeed the very definition of classical sculpture hot. The sort of man who you fully expected to turn up to the date in a flash car, very expensive suit and a winning smile who could practically snap his fingers and have anything that he wanted within a second. Strong jawline, piercing dark brown eyes and thick eyebrows managed to cultivate the immaculate look and had Kyungsoo swooning in his seat. He jumped a little when his head collided with the wall and one of the mothers next to him gave him a funny sort of look, which Kyungsoo only grimaced at, pressed liked and hurried onto the next profile. 

The new profile that popped up showed someone who was rather like the first profile but with a softer, more rounded face and a slight touch of a tan but a similar look. However, he was more classic trouble maker with money to get him out of it rather than all out bad boy and plus his cutie pictures were just too cute. He was an adorable monster, someone had commented and Kyungsoo lightly blew air out of his nose before settling on a like of the profile. “Damn it, I’m so weird,” he muttered lightly to himself before flicking across to the last profile he could potentially reject or accept for this whole weird date thing. 

This profile was different from the others, the potential member clearly newer than the others in the lack of pictures and comments, as well as the flashy banner which said that this was potentially a debut for this OD Representative and Kyungsoo found himself curious enough to even read the details involved with him whereas the others he had barely even glanced pasted the photographs. Blood type, A, hobbies: playing guitar, drums, favourite number: 21, height: 1.85 meters…Kyungsoo baulked at that figure, wondering how the lost looking puppy in the pictures could be that huge and wondered what it would be like to constantly have to crane his neck up that high to look at his date should he get chosen. However, there was still something about him from the stills, a certain softness, like a childishness that came through despite him appearing to be very serious that was somehow very endearing. Kyungsoo smirked and clicked like before getting a confirmation of his choice and felt a wave of panic go through his heart at the notion. He sat up straighter and looked down at the app again, wondering if he could review but instead just found the invitation to the meet and greet event and bit his lip in worry.

Letting out a longing sigh, Kyungsoo shook his head at himself again and glared at the floor, “Get a grip on yourself, it’s not like you have to marry whoever.” 

Deciding that it was best to push the issue aside for the time being, Kyungsoo instead looked back towards the dance practice and felt an all too easy smile on his lips. They had stopped rehearsing for the upcoming show and were just having a free form session to a selection of upbeat pop tracks. It was really just an excuse to allow everyone the chance to dance however they wanted and develop their own styles and ways without being constantly scrutinized. It also helped to identify natural dance partners and allowed the juniors to mix with the seniors too. Kyungsoo could barely keep the smile off his face as he saw a rather dejected Sehun wandering across to him with an all too familiar pout on his lips before the youngster practically threw himself onto his elder brothers lap to whine. 

Suppressing the chuckle that wanted to escape from his lips, Kyungsoo petted Sehun lightly, “Oh baby, has he wandered off again?” 

“No,” Sehun pouted brattily, “As soon as free practice was on he went straight over to Taemin and won’t dance with me.” 

This was a regular occurrence and even though everyone had tried to explain to Sehun about the situation, there seemed to be no amount of words which would convince the youngster that there was nothing wrong with what the pair were doing. Kyungsoo at first had worried that Sehun was jealous and would do something very bad about it, but over the times that he had come to pick the trio up from their extra-curricular activities, he had begun to realize that Kai wasn’t the problem. It was Sehun who was having the attachment issues because he felt that he was the only one who could dance with Kai. Of course, being twelve, Sehun was starting to grow up and probably knew fine well that Kai and Taemin together as a dance team were something extraordinary to behold and he would always cheer the loudest when they were in competitions together but there were still some childish tendencies that lingered in his heart and mind. 

Before Kyungsoo replied to Sehun, he mentally tutted in annoyance when he spotted that the light grey jogging bottoms which the other wore to dance practice were raising above his ankles which meant that he had a growth spurt coming on. Already the younger trio reached Kyungsoo’s shoulders and he was sure to be in total despair if they ended up taller than him because practically everyone was and it was downright annoying at times. But he pushed that thought aside, knowing that a growth spurt would mean a shopping trip and he could actually do with an update to his wardrobe. As well as some outfits for his upcoming ‘dates’. 

“Aww, baby, we’ve been through this before,” Kyungsoo said towards his pouty brother, “I know that you want to dance with Kai but...” 

“It’s not that,” Sehun said quickly, looking down, “I know I can, I’m not worried about that.” 

“Then what?” Kyungsoo asked, surprised that Sehun was opening up this much on the subject as usually he just made whining noises and refused to talk about it.

As if on cue, a whining noise came from Sehun, “Why do they look so good together? Like they’re a perfect match! I mean, they make Timmy and Jolene look like they’re just actors pretending to be in love with one another.” 

It took Kyungsoo a few seconds to fully understand what it was that Sehun was telling him, mainly because he couldn’t identify who the heck Timmy and Jolene were until he remembered those ghastly movies which Suho had enjoyed, and even then, it took him a second to process the young cubs thinking. Balking a little as he did, Kyungsoo looked down at his brother and stammered, “H... how...just...wait...Sehun!” 

“What?” Sehun blinked up innocently towards Kyungsoo, still oblivious to the words that he had just said. 

Kyungsoo took a deep breath to calm himself, “I mean...Sehun...you’re not supposed...” 

Sehun blinked, “Soo? Are you okay? You’re turning red?” 

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo tried to clear his thoughts because really, he should have expected something like this to come up. Ever since the cubs had found out about Suho arriving, they had been suddenly more interested in the grown-up things. Granted they had finally started their sex education classes as well as the special omega ones which were mandatory to attend from the age of eleven, because getting everyone to understand their wolves was far easier when only one type of wolf was around, but Kyungsoo was pretty sure that there was no real way that Sehun could be arriving at the sort of conclusions that he was. Or maybe it was the fact that he didn’t want to admit that his younger brothers were growing up faster than he liked, because even though there was literally only three years between them, Kyungsoo always wanted to protect them the most. 

Taking a breath, Kyungsoo sighed, “Yes, I’m fine. But Sehun...how can you say that Timmy and Jolene aren’t real? You love those movies to pieces.”

“They’re movies, Soo,” Sehun stated with a smile, “They’re actors who pretend and they’re really good at it but last time I watched them I realized it wasn’t that real. But when I look at Kai and Taemin, they look...they look...” the young cub trailed off with a sigh and rested his head on Kyungsoo’s lap, “They look like Umma and Papa. Like they’re meant to be.” 

A sigh escaped Kyungsoo before he nipped at the tips of Sehun’s ear with his fingertips, “Don’t you dare start getting any ideas about finding your mate. I’ve got enough stress with Kai finding his at the moment and I don’t want to be worrying about you either. “

For a few seconds there was nothing but silence between the pair before Sehun suddenly spluttered a series of half formed words that matched Kyungsoo’s ones. It was Kyungsoo who rallied first, “No! Shush, Sehun, don’t panic! It’s not unheard of for mates and they could just be really great friends so there’s no need to...” 

Sehun burst out laughing and hugged his big brother, “It’s fine, it really is! I had sort of guessed but thank you for telling me.” 

“You weren’t supposed to...wait, what?” Kyungsoo nearly shrieked, not noticing that some of the mothers and fathers around him were giving the pair questioning looks but not really speaking aloud. Glaring at his younger brother, who replied with a smirk back towards him, Kyungsoo was about to launch into a series of demanding questions when one of the seniors came across to the pair. 

“Ah, Sehun-ah,” Donghae smiled towards the smaller male, “There you are. Come on, the others are missing you in practice.” 

A beaming smile crossed Sehun’s face as he reached out to take the offered hand, “Coming, Donghae. See you soon, Soo.” 

A sudden feeling of dread passed over Kyungsoo as he watched the pair head back into class, where immediately Kai dragged Taemin over towards them and playfully shot Sehun down for running away from them but a bleep from his phone distracted him long enough to forget about the thoughts which had formed in his head. It transpired to be a message from the OD, confirming that three whom he had selected for the meet up were available and he was so conflicted in his feelings that part of him nearly squeed out loud whilst another drowned in self-pity. 

Deciding it would be best to get away from all this talk of mates and partners, Kyungsoo got up and headed towards the toilets because there was still over an hour to go before the trio would be finished. He should have just gone to the library to finish off his essay today, it would have saved him so many confusing thoughts. Sighing lightly, as he stared in the old school mirrors, Kyungsoo blatantly wondered what it was that made everyone else in his family so lucky to find their mates when they were relatively young whereas he was still stuck trying to find a type. Even in the entertainment world, he rarely liked any of the actors or singers that others drooled over and had never had a celebrity crush either. Maybe he was just abnormal or one of the few that was destined to never have a mate because his had died when they were a child. 

“Okay, stop with the morbid thoughts,” he spoke aloud to his reflection, “You’re fifteen, many don’t find their mates until their twenties. All the rest of them are just lucky little goits.” 

The words didn’t fill him with much self confidence but they were enough for Kyungsoo to wash his hands, even though he hadn’t actually gone to the toilet and then head out of the room. Maybe he could find a quiet classroom to sit and do his homework in for a bit, rather than continue to watch the dancing. Or he figured, he could always go and check on Tao in his wushu practice. It had been a while since he had watched that actually. 

Making his way along to the sports hall where the class was situated, Kyungsoo was glad to find that the door was blocked open as it was a particularly hot day so it was easy for him to slip into the benches at the back without causing too much of a distraction. Not that he ever really did, once the classes started everyone was so focused on what they were doing that it was rare for them to be distracted by anything. Kyungsoo liked to watch wushu as it was an art form as well as a deadly combat sport but he had to admit that it had brought out a lot of self confidence in Tao and made the youngster more willing to interact with others. It even got him to wear his hearing aids more, as well as freely teaching others sign language so that he could have conversations with them. 

Currently the eldest of the trio was separated off from the main group and was doing some fighting practice with one of the seniors whom Kyungsoo recognized from his drama group. Taeyang was an alpha who appeared to be all big, broody and everything typical of a seventeen-year-old alpha but was in fact one of the biggest sweethearts on the planet and took care of everyone like they were all his little brothers and sisters. Even his best friend Jiyong he looked after, despite the other being more than capable to look after himself. Kyungsoo had had a fleeting interest, that was not a crush, on Taeyang when he had first joined the drama group but had quickly come to the understanding that Taeyang was only interested in meeting his mate and not going with anyone before that point. When Kyungsoo had worked up the courage to ask, Taeyang had said he already knew that his mate was going to need a lot of help, love and understanding because of something that would happen to mar their lives forever so he was going to be one hundred per cent committed to that one person. 

However, when Taeyang had noticed Kyungsoo’s pouting at that remark, he had laughed and simply said, “Everyone has a different approach to mates, Soo. Whoever you’re destined for is going to have to be someone who can tame that sharp look of yours whilst being a totally adorable puppy who will always have your back.” 

Having called the other a rude name at that sentence, Kyungsoo had wandered off to talk to the others only to learn later that Taeyang had a natural affinity for wolves and their mates, easily able to tell which couples were a passing fad and which were destined to be. He had apologized and they became firm friends in the club but rarely interacted outside of it because of their respective majors and other activities. Occasionally Taeyang would walk Kyungsoo home if he happened to be in the library studying till late as they didn’t live that far apart but that was as far as their friendship went for now. 

Kyungsoo smiled, watching as Taeyang guided Tao through a complicated set of moves with an infinitive amount of patience, words which were spoken softly and properly and small interspersed sections of sign language. It was nice to see the interaction, to see the trust and confidence which Tao had with Taeyang in such a situation and the elder brother felt like he could relax a little. Sitting down, he continued to watch the pair for a few more minutes before opting to dig out his Literature homework and begin answering a series of questions about how, if read in a certain light, Romeo and Juliet could be perceived in the wolf world as a role reversal of omega and alpha. With Juliet showing more classical signs of having been an alpha whereas Romeo was an omega. It was not a way that he had ever personally read this play, he far preferred Othello and Twelfth Night, but it was certainly an interesting take on it. Especially considering that Shakespeare had been a human after all. 

It was a good thirty minutes later, when Kyungsoo was scrabbling through the book to find the quote about how soppy Romeo could be with heartbreak and love because it fitted perfectly with his argument, that a smell suddenly hit him. It wasn’t strong at first, just noticeable enough to make him pick it up as he found the quote in question but by the time he had finished writing the quote into the essay he was writing, it was almost like a punch in the gut with how pungent it was. Looking up, Kyungsoo thought at first that one of the seniors must have gone into an unexpected heat from the way that the class had all sort of frozen but the smell was wrong at the same time. The smell of heat was one that was very strong and distinct to each wolf but it always held a base note of fish to Kyungsoo. Very much like the smell that came from human girls when they were on their monthly periods. He was so glad that omega wolves did not have to go through that, it would just cause a constant bad smell about the place.   
But this smell, whilst it certainly held that particular smell, was worse. Almost as if something had rotted with the fish and it immediately brought worry to Kyungsoo’s heart. It was a smell that would undoubtedly cause pain and anguish to whoever was producing it and something immediately made Kyungsoo shift his eyes to where Tao had been practicing. 

Only to find himself vaulting over the chairs to hurry towards the boy who was no longer looking serene, agile and content with the world but was instead lying on his side, curled up in a fetal position though he kept moving as if he couldn’t get still or comfortable. Tears were streaming down from his eyes which were clenched shut and half formed noises that could have been words or whimpers Kyungsoo didn’t know were spilling out of his mouth. All he knew was that he was over by his little brother’s side in what felt like a space of two seconds and holding onto him tightly. “Shh, it’s okay, Tao, it’s okay?” Kyungsoo found himself managing to say calmly even though his heart and brain were on complete panic mode, “I’m here. It’s going to be okay, we’re going...”   
Turning his head to the left, Kyungsoo saw one of the beta instructors already on the phone to someone, hopefully to get an ambulance whilst the omega and the alpha instructor moved the students away from the scene. Some of the parents who were watching the youngsters were already collecting their children, soothing them as best as they could and most of the elder students were helping to gather everyone up and get out of the way. A few omegas were lingering around, clearly offering help because they had all been through the unexpected first heat but they all knew that something was horrendously wrong. 

Tiffany, one of the seniors who partook in the wushu, came racing over with a bucket of water, a washcloth, towel and a large blanket. “We need to get his clothes off,” she stated very matter of factly, looking up to Kyungsoo, “It’ll help.”   
Nodding hurriedly, as he remembered how uncomfortable it was to wear clothes during heat regardless of who you were with, Kyungsoo gently shifted the sobbing boy in his arms, “Taotao, listen, me and Tiffany are going to make you a little more comfortable okay? We’re not going to do anything but...” 

“Hurts!” Tao yelled loudly, startling both of helping omegas, “Kyungsoo! It hurts!” 

It was rare that Tao spoke, though he was capable of doing it and the anguish in his words triggered a response from three of the alphas who were still in the room. The alpha instructor came closer, having gone to fetch the first aid kit and the school nurse, his concern for the youngster clear in his expression and smell because it was natural for an alpha to want to help a distressed, wounded omega. Both Tiffany and Kyungsoo snarled at him, protective instincts kicking in because even though the instructor in question was mated and had a large family, there was still a present danger to the youngest omega and neither would allow him to be close to the boy on the floor. 

The other two alphas were Taeyang and another boy that Kyungsoo did not know. The other boy upon hearing the yell had moved forward, a glimmer of something feral in his eyes and Taeyang had stuck his arm out in front of him before letting out a warning growl towards the other. 

Kyungsoo barely noticed however, as he was focused on the task at hand. Thankfully the clothing at Tao wore for wushu was relatively easy to remove but both omegas stopped their movements at the exact same moment when they found that the boys lower body was covered in blood and a strange yellow puss that smelt even more horrible than it looked. Within seconds, all of the omegas in the room were gathered around the youngster, helping to clean him, offering him comfort and generally doing everything possible to make sure that Tao was looked after. Even if they had no idea what this strange entity was, their instincts knew that one of their own was hurt and they had to look after him. 

The alpha instructor was already back on the phone, just about containing his anger as he desperately tried to make the medical staff hurry up before having to pass the job to the beta as a fight had broken out behind him. It was between Taeyang and the other alpha. A quick glance would tell anyone that the other alpha wasn’t trying to reach Tao in order to help him, his instincts were screaming to mate with the boy and he was reacting accordingly. Taeyang was clearly also affected by the smell but in a different way. His eyes were set firmly on keeping the other at bay, stopping him from reaching Tao and nothing else mattered in that regard. 

The omegas however did not pay any attention to the fight, focusing instead of the wounded cub and barely willing to let him go even when the medical professionals arrived. By that time all the rest of the students had been cleared out of the hall to either their parents or a classroom to wait for collection, had gone home or been dragged off to the principal’s office. Kyungsoo held desperately onto Tao when one of the medics tried to remove the boy from his arms, not willing to let the youngster go but a few kind words had him relenting and he pressed a kiss to the top of the terrified boys head, “It’ll be okay, Tao, I’ll be with you when you get to the hospital. I’ve got to get your brothers and call Umma and...” 

“Want Su...want Mama...” Tao hiccupped, his eyes still scrunched tightly closed. 

Kyungsoo gently laid Tao on the gurney, “I’ll get them...they’ll come and see you Tao. I promise you’ll be safe and the pain will go away.” 

There was no response from Tao, the medical crew had given him a light sedative to help calm his erratic heart beat and for a few seconds, Kyungsoo did not know what to do. Then a hand landed on his shoulder and Yixing stared at him with a clarity that was startling, “Go with him to the hospital. I’ve got Sehun and Kai with me, I’ll take them via the bus cause they don’t need to see Tao in that worse a state.” 

Nodding, Kyungsoo hugged his friend tightly for a few seconds, gave his two little brothers quick hugs and words of reassurance before hurrying to the ambulance to join Tao and keep him company. After that he lost complete track of time and actions, barely remembering anything about the ride to the hospital, checking Tao in, trying to get hold of his parents on the phone or even calling Suho despite knowing somewhere in his mind that he was out on a date with Kris and this was not the sort of news to be springing on either of them. But he was just so lost, confused and dazed that for a little while the medical staff thought about admitting him for shock. 

Thankfully Yixing arrived five minutes after that and knew exactly what to do. The alpha with the mind of an omega gave Sehun and Kai some money and told them to go to the shop and buy some sandwiches, sweets and drinks for everyone and as soon as they were gone, Yixing pulled Kyungsoo into a very tight embrace. “Let it out,” he said soothingly, “Just let it out, Kyungsoo. You’ve been so strong but you need to cry now.” 

For a few seconds, Kyungsoo resisted but then he opted to follow his friend’s advice and wailed loudly into Yixing’s arms. He cried for what felt like hours, unable to process anything other than just focusing on bawling his eyes out because he could not understand what was wrong with his baby brother. Even though he had stated that it was a heat, Kyungsoo knew that it was nothing like that in the slightest because he had gone through several himself and he never bled or had strange puss coming out along with it. He was too young for all of this to be happening and whilst they had been aware that it was a risk that the trio could follow after their mother and start fairly young with the heats, they had all been more than relieved that it hadn’t happened in the slightest. 

Losing all track of time again, Kyungsoo found himself half dozing against Yixing when Suho came into the waiting room to jolt him back in to reality and the younger cousin threw himself at the elder. He didn’t even notice that Sehun and Kai were sitting in the corner, munching on the sweets they had gotten whilst attempting to do some bits of homework but with little inspiration to do so. “I’m sorry!” he half cried out, “I knew it was a bad thing to call you but I just...”

“Hey, hey, shush, it’s fine, Kyungsoo,” Suho said, hugging the youngster tightly to his chest, “I understand. Aunty was on the line to me as well, she’s worried to death but is stuck on the other side of town. She’s called Uncle and he’ll be here just as soon as he can as well.” 

“But...but what about?” Kyungsoo stammered, rubbing at his eyes desperately as more tears welled up in them. 

“Fanfan!” a cheerful voice called and suddenly a blur passed by the two cousins to slam into a third figure who had been lingering in the doorway, “Long time no see.” 

Suho turned to see Yifan being rather awkwardly embraced by a smaller man with a slim but toned build of a dancer, a wild mop of black hair and a smile that was bright with dimples. For a second he was completely confused, as the smell of alpha clung to him so easily but here was Yifan accepting the hug and not flinching away. Jealously flared up for just a second before the stranger did something completely unexpected. He snuggled up to Yifan like he was a babe and let out a little squeaking noise which only omegas could generally produce when they were puppies. Yifan sighed and gently petted the other, “Xing, what have I told you about doing that?” 

The alpha, now identified as Xing, pulled back and pouted adorably, “Oh I know! But why do I have to be all polite and stuff! You’re my friend.” 

Suho let out a cough to catch the others attention, sending him a slight warning glare as alphas tended to do with one another. The dimpled man turned, blinked in surprise towards Suho and studied him for a few seconds before suddenly launching himself at Suho to throw a hug around the startled alpha and repeat the same action he had just done to Yifan. After a second or two he looked up and that brilliant smile crossed his face once again, including the extra-large cute dimples, “You must be Fanfan’s mate Suho!” he cheered quite loudly, clearly also forgetting about the cubs in the room with them, “It’s so nice to meet you! He’s been glowing and sparkling like a galaxy ever since he heard you were coming back home!” 

Kyungsoo held back a groan, though it could have been a laugh, “Suho, meet my friend Yixing.” 

Blinking, Suho looked down at Yixing, who had gone back to snuggling against him once again and looked towards Yifan, “Is this...” 

“Yeah,” Yifan said quietly, looking down and blushing as he stepped further into the room, “I’m afraid I forgot to tell you that he can...well, you know now.” 

Suho nodded his head and looked down towards the alpha who was now humming happily, “Erm, nice to meet you Y... Xing?” 

“It’s Yixing,” Yixing said, moving back and smiling, “Don’t worry, everyone has trouble with it when they first start. 

Suho blinked at the other in amazement but as he really wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say now but thankfully was distracted by a new voice which appeared to come out of nowhere. 

“Soo, can we go and see Taotao now?” Kai asked, tugging lightly at Kyungsoo’s hand with a pleading look, “He’s going to be so lonely and scared.” 

That brought everyone in the room back to the moment and the situation that they were in. However, it was Yixing who said that he would go and speak to the nursing staff to see if it was indeed possible or if things were just a little off scale at the moment. Once the door had closed behind the dancer, Kai turned back to Kyungsoo, “Please! I want to go and see him now!” 

“I know, sweetie,” Kyungsoo said softly, gently petting the others hair, “But until the doctor says...” 

“He hates hospitals!” Kai seethed, his little frame beginning to shake with anger, “He hates them worse than going to the dentist! He hates them worse than bugs and ghosts! I need to go and see him, Soo! I need to tell him that everything is going to be alright!”   
Kyungsoo opened his mouth to speak but found he was at a total loss as to what to say, Suho was in the same boat because whilst he had dealt with the tantrums that Kyungsoo could throw when he was five, this was a completely different kettle of fish. This wasn’t a tantrum over a toy or not being able to go somewhere, this was a tantrum because Kai wanted to make sure that his brother was going to be okay even though he couldn’t understand what was happening to him. The three brothers were probably all going through a tremendous amount of pain right now because their brotherly bond would be sharing everything and it would be completely confusing to the three. 

At the lack of response from the adults present, Kai visibly got more upset and large tears started to pool in his eyes, “Kyungsoo!” he growled, quite literally towards his older brother, “I want to see Tao now!” 

Still no one could respond to the cub because whatever they would say would only make things ten times worse because Kai was just that upset that he was liable to hurt himself or others if they weren’t careful. Kyungsoo wished his mother was there to help because she had a better understanding of this sort of situation and tears were not something that Kyungsoo dealt with one a regular basis. Suho was desperately trying to think of things to say but he had barely known the cub a day so there was nothing in the back of his head as he really had not spent much time around kids this age except when he was one. Sehun was curled up in the corner, cuddling something but would not come near Kai when he was like this because once in the past when Kai had gotten himself this upset, he had lashed out at Sehun who had been trying to calm him down and caused a small bruise on his cheek. Jongin had cried for a week afterwards, hating himself for hurting his brother and expressly told both Sehun and Tao that if he were ever that upset again to not come anywhere near him. 

But just as Kai’s anger was literally about to explode and cause serious problems, it was suddenly abated when a pair of large hands landed tentatively but strongly on his shoulders and immediately the youngster turned around with an unplanned intention of snapping at whoever only to find himself locking eyes with a wolf he had never seen before. He took in the sharp jawline, the thick heavy eyebrows and the dark brown eyes that were focused on the task at hand but held a level of fear and uncertainty in them that was almost shocking to behold. Black hair had been attempted at a simple style but was ruffled with sweat and worry and the white ears were down in fear and panic. 

Kai felt the anger ebb away from him in a quick burst, a tingling feeling going straight down his spine and fluttering through his heart at the simple touch. He knew this wolf instinctively, knew him without having to question a single thing as his whole being practically vibrated towards the other and there came an instant urge to throw his arms around the others neck and wail. Kai knew that this wolf wouldn’t have minded if he acted like that, would hold him throughout his whole tantrum and whisper words of encouragement in his ears to tell him that Tao would be fine and Jongin knew that he could believe every single word that was said. He could feel the bond between them, though it was carefully hidden under a mask of pretense, and he felt the love the other held for him. 

But he also felt the fear, heard faintly a distant echo of hatred and a coldness which was desperately trying to hide itself from their connection as if this wolf did not want him to know anything more. Jongin was so caught up in all of these feelings that he barely registered the fact that the wolf had spoken his name until he double blinked and reality settled back for a few seconds. “Jongin,” the voice was deep, melodic and made the youngster think of a dragon guarding its treasure instantly, “I know you want to see Tao, we all do, but until the doctor says we can there is nothing we can do. But I know that you can help your brother and make him know that you’re there for him, along with Sehun. Call out to him through your bond, share your good feelings with him and he’ll feel it and get better so much sooner.” 

Jongin blinked, “You promise?” 

“One hundred per cent,” the strange wolf said, a tiny smile forming on his lips, “Go back to Sehun, he needs you just as much as Tao does right now and wait until your umma gets here. By then you may be able to see Tao but you have to behave and not throw anymore tantrums. Can you promise me that?” 

“Yes,” Jongin said without even pausing to think about it, “err...” 

“Kris,” the unknown wolf replied, seeming to come back to himself and Jongin immediately knew that it was not his true name but it was something very special indeed. 

The cub nodded and saluted, “I promise Kris.” 

Nodding, Kris gently lifted his hands off of Jongin’s shoulders and watched as immediately the youngster turned and hurried over to his distressed brother, wrapping his arms around Sehun’s frame and holding him. He could practically feel the pairs call towards Tao, their soothing thoughts and promises and it was so tempting to add his own but already the urge to throw up was building in his stomach and he couldn’t help but clamp down firmly on the connection just as he felt Jongin searching back for him. Tears were already welling up in his own eyes and his hands had not stopped shaking in the slightest but he could not say as to why. 

“Kyungsoo, go and keep the cubs company,” he faintly hear Suho say, “I’ll tell Yixing to keep an eye out for my Aunt and Uncle. Kris, come on, come with me.” 

Warm familiar hands caught him around his torso, Yifan barely registered the moment when he had hunkered down to be on the same eye level as Kai, to gently haul him up to his feet and start him walking. The world passed in a blurring daze and the white eared omega had not a single clue as to where they were for a long while. He barely registered the corridors, stairwells or the car parks that they walked through. He just sat there in a daze when he was set upon an old wooden picnic table, staring at his hands as though they were something completely alien to him. He could still feel the tingle in them, the lingering touch of his own cub, a boy he had held maybe for five seconds out of fear and panic because he had wanted them taken away but couldn’t let them go.   
He knew that he should be having a meltdown right now, should be screaming and crying and wrenching his hair out in big clumps but he couldn’t. Yifan just could not do any of those things, yes there were tears falling down his face, there had been ever since he had let go of Jongin, but they had just been a long stream of silent ones and if he was honest with himself, they weren’t ones of sadness. He didn’t know what they were, even though they were coming out of his eyes. 

An all too familiar handkerchief broke his concentration on his hands and caused Yifan to pull back a little but only to allow Joonmyeon to carefully dab at his eyes. The alpha chuckled softly, “I think I’m going to have to buy more handkerchiefs at this rate.”   
Yifan did not speak a word, instead quietly wrapping his arms tightly around the familiar figure and just inhaling his scent. Joonmyeon smiled softly, returning the hug and lightly pressed kisses to the others head and ears. For a long while they were just sat there, in the growing darkness, the bottle of ramane forgotten behind them as the darkness began to fall all around them. 

Finally, Yifan mumbled something and Joonmyeon looked down, “What?” 

Yifan took a second to gulp, before asking, “Can I have that drink?” 

“Sure,” Joonmyeon said, reaching over to the bottle and quickly snapping it and bashing the top, glad to see the others ears wiggle a little at the sound of the glass bead before handing it over, “You deserved some.” 

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Yifan said slowly, taking a few sips of the fizzy liquid as he didn’t want it to go shooting up his nose. 

“You were settling down a distraught cub, Yifan,” Joonmyeon said, petting Yifan’s ears, “You were obeying your omega instincts.” 

Yifan shook his head, “I was settling down my cub.” 

There was a silence between the pair for a few seconds and then Yifan sighed, “I felt it. I felt the connection between the three of them and the stress that they were all under and I just...I couldn’t...Jongin needed some direction and no one else would have got it and I just...I don’t know, I’ve never, I mean I know but it was just...” 

“Yifan,” Joonmyeon cooed gently, “Fanfan, regardless of all the pain you went through and all the wrong things that were done to you...those three are still yours.” 

Another sigh came from Yifan, “I’ve ran away from them all of their lives...” 

“I know,” Joonmyeon said softly, “No one will deny that but you had a reason to Yifan. You were a child; your omega senses were only just beginning to really come into focus and that bastard of an alpha took that away from you. But now...now you’re starting to gain them back and they will scare you for a long while but they’ll also guide you. Your cubs still love you, else the bond would not be there and even though they don’t know you personally...they’ll recognize you.” 

Yifan snuggled closer to his mate, instinctively reaching for the other’s hand to look at the bite mark, “What about you? Will they ever recognize you in the same way?” 

Pursing his lips in thought, Suho hummed, “I’m not sure. Maybe once we’re fully claimed they will but even if they don’t, I’m pretty sure that they’ll act like they do.” 

Once again, they fell into a comfortable silence, Yifan playing with Joonmyeon’s hand as he traced the bite marks and time just trickled away without any interruptions. Unexpectedly Suho turned his head towards Yifan, “I’ve just noticed, you’re not freaking out like you did earlier.” 

“I know,” Yifan replied, swallowing some more of the drink before passing it up to Joonmyeon, “I don’t understand why. I mean, I freaked out completely when I talked about a future with you but then.... I touch my own son to calm him down and...” 

A hand wound its way carefully through his hair, scratching at the others ears, “Maybe what you’re most afraid of, is something that you can’t see or touch. Yifan, I think you’re afraid of the future, of what your body is going to do once you’re off the blockers and the other treatments you receive. You don’t know if you’re going to be a normal omega or not.” Joonmyeon paused in his words and then gently tugged on the tips of the others ears, “You’ve been told that you’re different, that you have problems and aren’t normal since you were eight because of what happened to you and now that you’re facing the prospect of becoming what is technically normal for an omega, you’re scared because you don’t know how to be that omega. Even though, instinctively you do because it’s there, in your heart.” 

Yifan tilted his head up, “You really think that?” 

“I just witnessed it,” Joonmyeon replied back softly, “You dealt with Jongin beautifully and with no prompting from anyone else. If that’s not instinctual, I don’t know what is.” 

About to argue the point, Yifan was silenced when he felt a soft little nudge along the bond. It wasn’t anything more than just a curious press, nothing more than the sensation of pressing the nose of a hello kitty doll but it was still there none the less. For a second it was tempting to close the connection once again, to hide it back away and just pretend that he knew nothing of it but that same curious press came again and a sudden impulse took hold of his heart that was nearly impossible to ignore. Taking a deep breath, Yifan closed his eyes, squeezed Joonmyeon’s hand tight and allowed himself to just lightly press back. 

For an agonizing five seconds there was nothing before two further taps came back along the connection, stronger this time whilst a third floundered painfully in the background. Taking a deeper breath through his nose, Yifan sent a gentle pat towards the two little pulses and then focused on the one that was clearly in distress and pain. Very softly he reached out to that scared little rapid pulse and ran a soothing aura over it, practically feeling the shock that reverberated straight back. Yifan sat up, startling Joonmyeon who had just in the process of beginning to doze off, before sending the other a shy look. 

“Do...do you...” Yifan found the words sticking in his throat and let out a frustrated sigh at himself, “Would your aunt and uncle let me see Tao?” 

Joonmyeon blinked, “What?” 

“Would they let me see him?” Yifan said again, feeling a little more confident, “Just for a few moments?” 

“Are you sure about that Yifan?” Joonmyeon said, “If he’s in heat...” 

“He’s not,” Yifan said, “It’s different. Jongin is right, he’s scared and... even if it’s just a minute...” 

Joonmyeon smiled and took hold of Yifan’s hand, “I’m sure they’ve just been waiting for the day. Come on.” 

Nodding, Yifan finished off the bottle of ramane and made sure to put it in the glass recycling bin as they passed by, praying that his courage would not suddenly fail on him now. However, he could feel the three little pulses in his heart and knew that now he couldn’t fail them. Yes, he was terrified, he was scared for the future and what it would mean for him and Joonmyeon if they were ever to try to have a family together. He also couldn’t guarantee that he would ever be the mother that the cubs wanted either, he knew that he was unstable and could cause them more pain by having an attack or something similar but Yifan knew what it was like to be a terrified little cub in the dark with something going very wrong with you and he’d given anything for his precious little babies to never have to go through something like this. 

Even if he was unsure and terrified of himself, of what could happen, he had to give some comfort to Tao. To let him know that whatever horrible thing was happening to his body that it was possible to keep on going. To live and survive.   
The walk back was quite long but it felt like only five seconds and then they were back on the floor which they had left an untold amount of time ago. Jinsoo looked up and blinked upon seeing them, Sehun held in his arms asleep and looking like a perfect little angel but he nodded and smiled, “Hyuna is speaking to the doctor about him. We’ll be taking the cubs home shortly.” 

Joonmyeon nodded and looked down the corridor, “Do you think that we’d be able to...” 

“You can’t Joonmyeon,” Jinsoo cut in, “They’re not allowing alphas anywhere near Tao at the moment.” 

“What about me?” Yifan asked quietly. 

Jinsoo nearly jumped out of his skin at seeing Yifan there and opened his mouth a couple of times like a fish as he tried to work out how to answer the question but just at that moment, Hyuna herself came down the corridor with Kyungsoo and a very sleepy Kai. The woman came to a surprised halt, blinked repeatedly for a few seconds before seeming to take stock of the situation in a matter of seconds as she was known to do. 

Picking up Kai, she passed the sleepy boy to Suho, shoved Kyungsoo into a seat and took hold of Yifan’s hand, “He’s just down here, come on. We won’t have long but it’ll be more than enough.” 

The two alphas stared at one another in complete shock, unable to really register what was happening. Thankfully Kai shuffled a little bit in Suho’s arms which provided enough of a distraction for the male as he looked down towards the boy. Blearily blinking open his eyes, Kai looked at him as though he didn’t quite know who he was and then smiled, snuggling in close to the young alpha. “You really are him,” he whispered in a tiny voice that was lined with nothing more than slumber and an innocence which Suho really wanted to preserve. 

“Really who?” Suho found himself asking, more out of a need to actually talk to someone rather than just stare blinding ahead. 

“The prince who comes to save Mama,” Kai replied, fully in the process of slipping firmly back into the land of sleep, “The one whose always been protecting him.” 

Slowly Suho sat down, looking in bewilderment towards Jinsoo and Sehun to try and make sense of what the cub was saying at this moment in time. A halfhearted chuckle came from the young boy, “Mama wrote a letter once and sent it to the wrong address,” Kai continued on softly, “It was meant for his protector Suho but it came to us instead. It’s still in the drawers at home…he told so much…” tiny words filtered off as sleep claimed the boy and Suho could only sit there in a mixture of everything. 

One of Yifan’s letters had accidentally gone to the cubs? What could it say, what could it mean and was that how they appeared to know so much about him already? 

Suho glanced down the corridor where he had last seen Yifan go, resisting the urge to go rushing off after Yifan because he knew that he couldn’t do that. For one thing the medical staff would stop him and for another, this was Yifan’s moment with his cub. His natural omega and mothering instincts were kicking in and Suho could not interfere with that moment in the slightest. 

Though he very much wanted to do so, because he wanted so desperately to be part of this family and feel the bond that they had between them. He could only pray that his words earlier about the mating between him and Yifan would bring that fully about. Two days he had known the cubs and already he felt like they were his own flesh and blood, it was a wonder but one that had his heart beating pleasantly in the right manner. He would protect Yifan and help him with every single step along this difficult road that they had to follow but he would also protect, love and nurture the three precious little cubs because that was his role as their father. 

He sighed and looked down at the now thankfully sleeping Kai, “I’m really throwing myself in at the deep end, aren’t I, baby?” 

“Best way,” Jinsoo said with a smile as he reached across to pet Suho on the head, “You’ll be a good Dad to them. Just as you’ll be a good mate to Yifan.” 

Suho nodded his thanks and went back to worrying for his mate, silently praying that the sight of his hurt cub in pain wouldn’t trigger some form of panic attack. That would be the worst right now but Suho knew he had to have faith in the omega to do the right thing and he knew that Yifan would.


	7. Chapter 6 - Mama Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those of you wondering/guessing the profiles Kyungsoo was looking at (even if you don't rightfully care cause of what's happening at this point) they are as follows  
> 1\. Yongguk - B.A.P   
> 2\. Tego Yuya - NEWs (Jpop)  
> 3\. Choi Siwon - Super Junior  
> 4\. Namjoon - BTS  
> 5\. Chanyeol - EXO (should be obvious lol)

The temperature of the room was not helping in the slightest and Tao couldn’t seem to decide if it would be better to curl up or lay straight. His body was too hot, then too cold, had all these horrible tingling feelings rushing about constantly, especially around his lower regions and he didn’t know whether he should be crying, whimpering, screaming or just remaining quiet. Whatever had been given to him before was wearing off rapidly and it was scaring the life out of the cub. In a way he was glad that he could not open his eyes, the smells were more than enough to keep him in the knowledge of where he was and even though he despised hospitals on all levels, there was a smell which was horrendous, and he knew that it was coming off of him. 

He had no idea what it was, only that when he had first noticed the smell in the training room, it had been one to send him straight into panic mode a mere second before the weirdest and most unpleasant sensation rocked his body. In the omega classes they had been taught about heat cycles and what the body did when it first went into heat, whatever it was that he was currently going through certainly did not match to that description. There had been no butterflies in his stomach or else a gentle warmth that started an hour before hand which slowly consumed his body. This had just been a smell followed by pain, lots of pain and he had barely known what was going on or where he was. 

A whimper escaped his lips, as he tried to move himself into some form of comfortable position that didn’t make his bones ache or his spine tingle in that way which felt so horrible and just plain nasty, before coughing harshly as a new wave of that vile smell came up thick and fast. A wetness came from between his buttocks, cold, unpleasant and worse smelling than before which caused the cub to start dry heaving. Tears pooled in his eyes, he wanted this whole thing to be over, he hated this. “Umma…” he managed to form the syllables on his lips, vaguely able to hear them but he wasn’t entirely sure if his hearing aids were still in place or not, “Mama…” 

Sniffling like a baby, Tao rolled over onto his side, dislodging the blanket that was scratching at his skin and making it feel as though there were a thousand tiny pinpricks of pain shooting up all over his body on top of whatever was going on internally. It was a momentary relief, causing a sighing sob to escape the youngster’s lips but a nurse was back across to him to cover him up again. She was probably saying some soothing words to the young boy, but Tao could barely hear them and found himself pulling away because whilst she was an omega like virtually all of the Doctors and Nurses in this ward, there was a Beta somewhere nearby but he was dealing with another case Tao presumed, the smell of hospital disinfectant lingered on her and made Tao shrink away. 

Thankfully there came a scent into the room which calmed the young, wriggling cub on the bed and it was one of coffee, capol and autumn which Tao recognized immediately as Umma Hyuna. Painfully he cracked open his eyes, whimpering like a frightened newborn as he reached out for her because right now he needed all the love and affection that he could steal. He didn’t want to be here, he wanted to be somewhere else, curled up in the arms of those who loved him and who would protect him and guide him through whatever horrible thing this was. He saw Hyuna smile at him, felt as she gently reached across to pet his head and smooth down his sweaty ears and hair before she reached across to press a kiss to his forehead, “There, there, my big baby,” she spoke slowly, knowing that he was not completely able to focus, “It’s okay, Umma is here.”   
Tao wanted to croak out questions towards the woman, wanting to know where she had gone even though it wasn’t too difficult a task to walk out. But just at that moment another wave of pain struck him and Tao rolled over onto his back, once again dislodging the blanket and a new wave of roasting hot fire shot through him. “Hurts!” Tao whined, knowing that he was being pathetic and probably upsetting his Umma so much but he couldn’t manage anything else right now. “Ma…make it…stop!” 

Tears were now freely flowing down from his eyes, the pain reaching a high point, the god-awful smell overpowering everything else in the room and all Tao could think of was the searing heat that was building up in his system. He was aware of doctors explaining something, trying to tell his frantic Umma that they probably couldn’t give him anymore medication until they knew what was exactly wrong with him but the words were just a garbled mess of his own cries and whimpers, his umma’s distress, the doctor trying to sort everything out and a nearby machine beeping harshly. 

It was tempting to scream, just to try and break through all the noise and make it all stop, but Tao couldn’t even find the strength to manage much more than the little whimpers he was giving out from time to time. It was frustrating because he felt so lost and alone in the darkness that he didn’t know where to turn to next or what he was supposed to do or say and he had never felt this upset in the entirety of his life. Even that strange day when he was seven and they had all gone for a checkup at the hospital which had been one of the worst days of his life because of the number of tests that had been done on the small trio. Though it hadn’t actually been the needles which had caused the problems, no, it had been a young teenage omega who had been with them for most of the time. He hadn’t done anything outright to hurt them or anything like that, but his nervousness and distress had affected the trio so badly even though he had apologized more than was really necessary. 

The thought was fleeting however, a painful stab of pain shooting through his groin causing Tao to scream just as loudly as his Umma did. His dark eyes shot open and focused long enough to see the bed splattered with a mixture of urine, puss, blood and seaman. Shame, humiliation and pain shot through his entire body as he collapsed back, fresh tears flowing from his eyes and he felt his Umma leaving his side in a panic. But before he could start to panic about being left alone by the one woman who could probably help to keep him calm, a folded piece of material that was drenched with cold water landed softly on his forehead and a soft scent filled his nose. 

It reminded Tao of those cozy winter evenings, when there would be a fire burning in the hearth and hot coco being lovingly poured into their favourite cups to warm up after the walk home from school in the rain. The smell of being at home, in the warmth and knowing that there would soon be plenty of hot food to eat, followed by homework, a warm bath if he happened to pull the correct stick out of Umma’s hand and then a good old snuggle up in the bed with Jinsoo reading them stories. Tao knew that they were getting a little too old for that sort of thing, but it was something that the boys just weren’t quite ready to give up on just as of yet and that was what made it all special. 

“Hush, baby,” a deep voice spoke, obviously knowing to lean very close so that his hearing aids would pick it up, “I know it hurts, I know it’s scary but just breathe. It’s okay…it’ll be okay.” 

The voice moved away from his ears and automatically Tao turned his head to follow the sound, though he had no explanation as to why he did. “Just stay still, I’ll help,” the same deep voice spoke and Tao found himself following the instruction without any complaints. 

For the next ten minutes or so, Tao just lay there and let this deep voiced male do what he wanted. The pain was still present, the horrible smell also and he was immensely uncomfortable but instinctively he knew fine well that he could trust this omega. Part of him desperately wanted to open his eyes, to take a look at the figure but he found that it was harder to do so with each passing second.   
The male omega gently bathed his hot, sticky and evil smelling body with a cool wet cloth and something which felt like a sponge with such tender strokes that it was impossible to not relax. When he reached the more sensitive areas, Tao naturally tensed but thankfully at that moment Umma Hyuna returned to his side and was able to take hold of his hand and write on the palm of his hand to let him know what was going on. Once the cool cloth had been used to get rid of all the vile stuff on his body, Tao was gently lifted up with the help of his Umma and the unknown but safe feeling omega so that soiled sheets below were taken away. He was set down on the plastic underlay for now but found that it didn’t irritate his skin as much and was able to curl up on his side in order to rest a little more comfortably. A cloth with warm water ran over his skin, followed by some kind of gel that was cooling and soothed some of the pin prickles of pain which continued to rush up and down his body. 

Another omega arrived, this one smelling distinctively of home baking and Tao was aware of some faint muffled words being spoken above him but couldn’t find it in himself to open his eyes. With the hot wash and gel applied to him, Tao began to feel more relaxed and very sleepy though occasionally would shift with the pain. A strong smell caught his nose, making him tense up again because it held a medical chemical smell but then it was fragranced with cinnamon and a heavy set flower that he couldn’t identify right at this second. It turned out to be a sort of paste that was gently rubbed over his stomach, thighs, hips, bottom and penis with hands that knew what they were doing and held no vile intentions in them. There was a mild sting from whatever the paste was but it nulled the pain that was lingering and allowed him the room to breathe just a little easier. 

“Tao,” Hyuna spoke quietly into his ears, “We’re just going to raise you up a little, okay? Need to put you in some pajamas, okay?” 

Nodding quietly, because he was still quite unable to open his eyes, Tao continued to allow the three omegas to do whatever they were doing to him because he honestly had not felt this protected and relaxed in a long while. He was hoisted up, slowly and then wrapped in flannel pajamas that were a little too big for him but in comparison to the stretchy hospital blanket that had been attempting to cover him before, it felt like heaven. Unconsciously he let out a happy little sigh and wrapped his arms around the omega who smelt like the wintry evenings and felt himself relax further. For a second the male froze, shocked and panicked before the hug was returned and Tao was gently placed down on the crinkle sounding pillows. A hand reached up to remove the cloth bandage from his head, Tao having completely forgotten that it had been put there in the first place and a kiss was placed ever so lightly on his forehead, some words being whispered to him but at that moment in time, sleep claimed him completely so he did not hear them. 

Smiling softly at the scene in front of her, Yulan sent a million and one prayers of thanks to her ancient ancestors before carefully moving to touch her son’s shoulder, “Come on, Rourou, you’ve done enough for now.” 

Nodding slightly as he pulled back, Yifan stared at Tao who at least seemed to be at ease with sleeping and fought back the tears that wanted to flow down from his eyes. Setting beside the now thankfully sleeping boy was a large panda teddy bear which his mother had brought across from home along with a selection of other items, Yifan placed one final kiss onto Tao’s head before withdrawing and moving swiftly around the end of the bed. However Hyuna was swiftly in his way, staring at him with her own large tear filled eyes before pulling him into a tight hug and kissing his head repeatedly, “Thank you, thank you so much Yifan! You don’t know how much this helps my heart.” 

Instead of pulling straight back out of the hug as he would normally expect himself to, Yifan found himself instead holding onto Hyuna like she was the most precious woman in the world and allowed his tears to trickle onto her shirt, “Look after him for me, if he breaks out into a fever….mix some tiger balm in with the cold water. It’ll help.” 

“Yifan,” Hyuna said, pushing the omega back a little, “You’re coming back right? You’re not going to leave Tao like this?” 

Looking shocked for a few seconds, Yifan opened his mouth to reply but Hyuna cut him off, “I know, I know I’m asking a lot and I’m being selfish but I know my boys. They know of you Yifan, we have never lied to them about your existence and believe me, Tao is the most inquisitive. He’ll remember this. He’ll remember your scent and he’ll know you. He’ll come looking for you if you don’t come back to him…” 

“Hyuna,” Yifan said softly, shaking a little, “I don’t want to…” 

“You could never hurt them, Yifan,” Hyuna was getting a little hysterical but she was a mother who wanted to protect her cubs and make then happy, “You never would, you have to come and see them…” 

“Hyuna,” Yulan said with a little authority but a sweet knowing smile on her lips, “Let Yifan finish.” 

Blinking at her long term friend, Hyuna turned to look at Yifan with wonder in her eyes. 

A shyness came over Yifan and he gulped audibly, “I’m scared that I’ll hurt them. That I’ll have an attack and freak them out because they won’t understand…but I don’t want them to go through what I did. I don’t want them to end up like me. I want to come and visit Tao, make sure he’s all right and that he recovers from this. It’s going to be hard and I’m going to be useless and scared and so pathetic but….” 

Hyuna hugged him tightly, silencing his words because she did not need to hear anymore. Yulan smiled, her pride in her son’s action more than evident to see as she gently wrapped the pair in her own loving embrace. “It won’t be every day Hyuna, it can’t be yet but we shall let you know when we are coming and you can tell the cubs what you like.” 

Nodding the Umma of the trio pulled back and dabbed at her eyes with her fingers, “I’m sure they’ll be happy to meet their Mama properly. Though you best bring something extra for Sehun, he’ll get so jealous of his brothers after this.” A chuckle left her lips, “Oh, where is Jinsoo or Suho with their bloody handkerchief’s? We three look a right state.”

Digging into his pocket, Yifan handed Hyuna one of the handkerchiefs that Suho had given him earlier and the trio of omegas ended up in a group hug together as they shared the handkerchief. Yifan made a mental note to buy Suho some new ones because he was sure that he was going to have none left by the end of the week. The medical staff came apologetically along to tell them that only one visitor could remain and Yulan smiled before gently taking hold of Yifan’s hand to lead him out of the ward and into the corridor. Instead of heading straight for the others however, she found a small quiet alcove a little further up the corridor and set him down with a knowing look. Yifan didn’t fight her in the slightest, just nodding before curling himself up on the seat with a bundle of the items which they had used to clean Tao up in a clear plastic bag. 

With a sigh, Yulan headed back down the corridor to where the alphas were with the remaining cubs and she held a look of no nonsense, “Luhan, stay over with Jinsoo and the boys and make them your special breakfast in the morning and make Kyungsoo some hot chocolate and stay up with him as long as you possibly can.” 

“Mama?” Luhan asked, sounding a little on the surprised side to see her there but nodded at her request anyway. 

“Joonmyeon,” Yulan turned to address the last alpha, “Give Jongin to Luhan, you’re coming home with me and Yifan.” 

“What?” Suho replied blinking, “But I won’t have…” 

Yulan gave the boy a look, “Do you really think that me and Yifan wouldn’t have prepared for you coming home? The spare room is all made up for the two of you, there’s plenty of clothes in there that should fit you fine and are brand new and since you left a bunch of things that were expressively yours they’re still there as well. Now come on, I need to get the pair of you home.” 

A blush had crossed Suho’s cheeks and he spluttered a response. 

“Joonmyeon, I can tell you right now that tonight Yifan is going to need his alpha because once this situation fully hits him, you’re going to be the only one who will be able to calm him down in the slightest,” Yulan stated in her ever faithful matter-of-fact tone, “So rather than have to drag you up at one am in the morning, it will be better if you’re already there with him, in the same bed.” 

Luhan tried to hide his laughter with a cough as he watched Suho’s face before taking Jongin from Suho and giving him a little kick, “Go on, Joonie, Ma isn’t one to speak lightly and Yifan will need you tonight. Don’t worry, I’ve stopped over before so I have my own stuff too. Unless Kyungsoo got rid of it again.” 

At hearing his name, Kyungsoo looked up and did an odd sort of double blink, almost as if he had been completely zoned out of the conversation which in truth was probably the truth of the matter. He looked around, taking note of everyone’s location and then did another double blink. “What?” he asked softly, clearly not in the mood to try and pretend that he heard the conversation in the slightest. 

Luhan rolled his eyes, “I’m stopping with you and the cubs tonight, I was hoping that my stuff was still there since you have a habit of throwing everything out that belongs to me.”

“That was one time,” Kyungsoo whined, getting to his feet and blearily rubbing at his eyes, “Plus you had to admit that the towel in question was getting past the point of disgusting. How you could…” 

“I was kidding,” Luhan said gently, shaking his head before shifting Kai into a bit more of a natural hold, “Geeze, are all omegas just really defensive or is Kyungsoo just a whiney little brat?” 

“You’re mean, Luhan,” Kyungsoo said, sticking his tongue out at Luhan before yelping ever so slightly as his behind was playfully kicked by Jinsoo in order to get them moving as both Sehun and Kai were starting ever so slightly to wriggle and if either of them happened to wake up then there was no way that they would be able to get away from the hospital without having an absolute nightmare on their hands. 

Watching at the group went off, Suho waved silently to them and then turned to follow Yulan back down the corridor to where Yifan was. Thankfully the male omega had not moved and there seemed to only be a certain reassignment to his frame to suggest that there was anything actually the matter with him which could be taken as a good sign. However Suho was no fool and he knew that Yulan’s words were going to be one hundred per cent correct. It was just going to be very strange having a technical sleepover at the others, which was something that they had not done in a long while. When they were younger, their summers were spent exclusively at Yifan’s house, during the school terms, Suho would come over after he had finished his classes and homework for the day but would have to be home by eleven o’clock because there was no easy way to get him to school from Yifan’s house as the traffic tended to seize up. 

Gently he knelt in front of Yifan and ran his fingers over the others hands which were locked around his knees, “Hey, little one, it’s time to go home.” 

Raising his head a little, Yifan looked truly to be absolutely worn out but his eyes momentarily went towards the ward where Tao was currently resting before looking back to Suho. For a long moment he was quiet and then he nodded, uncurling himself carefully to stand up. Suho smiled and gave him a hug, knowing that it surprised the omega greatly but after all they had gone through today, he wouldn’t be too surprised if Yifan did indeed need a lot of tender loving care. Hell he barely knew the cub and he already wanted to barge into the room and hug him to pieces as well because he certainly did not deserve whatever was happening to him. 

Pulling back, Suho saw that Yifan’s eyes went straight back towards the ward and he sighed softly, “We’ll come back tomorrow, little one, if you feel up to it. We’ll come and check on him as many times as you like.” 

For a second Yifan did not reply before he nodded again and then almost absent mindedly handed across the bag of items that he had used to a waiting nurse and nodded to the figure of Hyuna who waved lightly from where she was standing before disappearing back into the ward after checking that her family were all safe and sound. The walk to the car was mainly conducted in silence, Suho practically leading Yifan the whole way and squeezing his hand constantly to ensure that Yifan was still with him. He wasn’t quite used to Yifan being this silent and resigned, it was a new one on him but Yulan kept on going as if it were something that she had dealt with before. Knowing the strong held woman, she probably had and she would already have a strong idea about how to deal with it. Something which Suho was more than happy to accept. He smiled upon seeing the old familiar SUV which still had the High School stickers on the bumper, though they were much faded now but it was nice to know that some things never changed. 

He clambered into the back seat, made sure that Yifan was securely strapped in next to him and then pulled the tall omega down onto his lap to lightly pat his hair and ears. “I’m here,” he said gently, even though he knew it really wasn’t needed. “I’m here, Yifan. Whenever.” 

There came an movement that could have been considered to be a nod but no spoken words as of such and Suho just settled back to watch the cars and light by from the window. He thought of making small talk with Yulan but her eyes in the rear view mirror told him that now was not a good time and they just fell into a silence. The drive wasn’t that long, thanks to the lack of traffic but it still seemed to pass by in a matter of seconds and when they parked in the driveway, Suho couldn’t help but let out a small smile. “It’s still the same,” he thought aloud, before blushing a little and glancing apologetically towards Yulan. 

However Yulan just dismissed him with a wave of her hand, “Of course, I’m not the type to go changing anything. Well at least not externally. Come on Rourou, stop hiding in the car, you’re not sleeping in there if I can help it.” 

Looking just about ready to pass out, in every last sense of the word, Yifan had to be practically dragged out of the car and taken into the house though he still hadn’t said a word since he had come out of Tao’s room in the hospital. Suho could only guess that it was a shock or a self contained moment that was lasting a really long time and did what he could to help out. Though once he stepped over the threshold of the house, he couldn’t help but come to a stop and just stare around. In comparison to the house that his aunt and uncle owned, which had been large to begin with but then extended with the addition of three cubs over the years, Yulan’s house was compact, dainty and the type of place that always felt like one of those homes that belonged in a fairy tale. It wouldn’t be too hard to take the interior of the place and put it in a grand setting like a palace or else have it be a secret house hidden in the woods where lost children would make their way. The furniture was simple, sweet and kept immaculate and only a few precious items were about to make the place looked lived in rather than a show place but that was only in the front room which was exclusively used to take guests in. Practically every other room in the house was filled with knick-knacks, pictures, vases, flowers, specialist plates, books by the thousands and even though it should have been overflowing and a complete mess it still managed to retain some sense of order and balance. How Yulan managed to keep the place so tidy and organized, Suho had zero idea because he knew that she was a full time mother with a full time job who had had to balance work and home life to the uttermost detail and she still managed to do it with a smile on her face. 

Suho thought that she was a marvelous woman, especially seeing as she managed to keep on top of everything with the added burden of having her youngest son kidnapped and then returned to her in a state that was challenging at the best of times and as he took a long sniff of the familiar house, he could already smell the cake that had been left on the side. It was an apple turnover if he wasn’t mistaken and it made his mouth water. There were only two floors to this house, the one that they were currently on and an upstairs which held two moderately sized bedrooms and a bathroom. Back in the day, Yifan and Luhan used to share one of the rooms whilst their mother had the other one and Suho used to frequently be over so it was three boys to one room. 

These days though, Suho figured that there would be more room as Luhan had moved out a few years back when he had gone to university and then got his job. He didn’t live far away though, according to Yulan there wasn’t a span of two days that would go by when her alpha boy wouldn’t turn up at the doorstep with the shopping or else to help fix something or even just to check on Yifan. He had a million and one different excuses and Suho was looking forward to hearing what they would be. Though his mind finally connected some odd dots and he turned to glance at Yulan, “I thought you didn’t have a spare room?” 

He had lost track of Yifan for the moment but figured that he would be upstairs in his room, or else having a shower. He wasn’t too worried about that fact as there was next to nothing in this house that could hurt his little omega and if there was, both of them would notice in a second. 

Yulan smiled, “We didn’t the last time you were here but I had the attic converted a long while ago. It was such a nice space that it was a shame not to use it.” 

Suho blinked, “You converted the attic?” 

“Yes, along with a few other things,” Yulan gave him a knowing little luck, “They say that karma comes for us all, good and bad and I had some really good karma come my way a while ago. So I was finally able to make the upgrades to the house at long last and it’s worked out perfectly fine.” 

A chuckle escaped from Suho, “I do hope you know that I do want Yifan to eventually move in with me into our own place.” 

“Oh of course,” Yulan chuckled back softly, “You can’t exactly have your mother-in-law bustling about the place as of yet but I think that it’ll take more than just a few soft words from you to make him even consider leaving this house. Plus, I know you haven’t got a place yet so I thought to have at least something set for the pair of you because there is no way that you can live in a house with that many cubs running around at the moment.” 

About to playfully chide the woman who clearly knew more about the world than he did, which was fully to be expected on all levels of reality, Suho instead found himself looking up at the sound of a bump. Yulan sighed softly, “You best go up to him Suho, he’s going to be out of it for a while.” 

Suho nodded, “I figured. Is there an easy access to the spare room?” 

“There’s a set of stairs right next to the bathroom, you can’t miss them,” Yulan said, turning towards her kitchen, “I’ll make some tea, it’ll hopefully help him to get a little sleep. Don’t expect much of it tonight, sweetheart.” 

Silently nodding a response, Suho headed up the stairs and found himself blinking in slight surprise when he saw Yifan sitting in the middle of his bedroom floor with a large blue bag open in front of him. Frowning a little, Suho stepped closer and then smiled softly at the contents. They hadn’t been kidding when they had said there was a load of stuff that was ‘his’ still in the house. There was a full set of plates with the matching cutlery, his favourite mug, plastic drinking glass, an old lunchbox which he had no clue as to what it was doing there and a few other odds and ends. Yifan was holding a soft blue towel that had faded patterns of ducks on it and a pillow case which was a plain white but had splotches of paint on it. “Is that really mine?” he asked, suddenly, forgetting that Yifan could be in a bit of a jumpy mood right now. 

Startled, Yifan turned to look at the speaker and then let out a little sigh before looking at the pillow case, “Yes. We painted it together one time and Mama nearly killed us.” 

“Oh, yeah,” Joonmyeon had the decency to blush, remembering how they had painted a brand new set of bedsheets with acrylic paints because they thought that it would do to brighten up Yulan’s room. The small fact that they had been expensive silk had rather passed them by and Yulan had been furious with the pair of them for all of two hours. Until Luhan came in from football practice a little too enthusiastically and kicked his football straight through the kitchen window. “You kept it?” 

Yifan shook his head, handing the pillowcase over to Suho, “No. Mama did. She said we could use it on the bed upstairs cause it’s designed for…well couples.” 

Joonmyeon chuckled a little and moved across to Yifan, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “Are you good with that?” 

A nod was his reply, Yifan once again looking down at the suitcase which held all manner of different things before lightly leaning against Joonmyeon as he had so frequently done all day and letting out a sigh, “I’m”- 

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Joonmyeon cut in softly, kissing the tips of Yifan’s ears, “I told you I was here for everything and I will be. Now no more talk, it’s not the time. Let’s have a shower and go to bed okay?” 

Lightly Yifan hugged a blanket he was holding closer to his chest and gulped, “Together?” 

“Yes,” Joonmyeon said without thinking before slapping his palm onto his forehead, “I meant…bed together. Sharing it like we used to. Not showering together, no, that would just be weird.” 

“Weird?” Yifan croaked out, sounding very upset by the words. 

“No! Not weird, I mean I just, don’t want to, make you, upset you or something or…” Joonmyeon trailed off when he saw the little cheeky look in Yifan’s expression and let out a slight grumble towards him before nipping the end of his nose, “You, my little omega are a sod.” 

Yifan let out one of his tiny smiles again before snuggling against Joonmyeon’s chest, “You’re right though.” 

“What about?” Joonmyeon asked, once again petting Yifan. 

“It would be weird,” Yifan replied, “Showering with you. That’s a step too far.” 

Humming in response, Joonmyeon stepped back, “To be honest, this is all going way faster than I had hoped but we’ll worry about that later. Why don’t you give me those sheets, I’ll head upstairs and put them on whilst you have a shower and get ready for bed and then we can swap. Sound good?” 

Yifan nodded and leaned up a little to give Joonmyeon a little kiss before finding the rest of the sheets and doing as Joonmyeon said. They parted ways at the bathroom door, once the suitcase had been set to one side, and Joonmyeon headed up the new stairs into what had been called the spare room. It appeared to be more like a master bedroom once the light was flicked on and it was every last bit as homely as the rest of the house. The room had been done in a simple but elegant style with pine furniture, bare wooden floors that had been polished and then covered with a yellow fuzzy rug that brought in some wonderful colour. The bed was a nice king size with a pine bedframe that raised itself off the floor and already there were the under sheets set with the blanket and pillows left folded nicely on the end. A couple of wardrobes were fitted in nicely either side and the sloping roofs held skylights that were covered with softly brown blinds to keep the sunlight at bay. It was the sort of place that screamed of Yulan’s work but there were signs that Yifan had had some influence with the decoration as there were a few old favourite toys and photographs on the walls. Joonmyeon made a mental note to bring some of Yifan’s artwork to add to the collection as well as his clothes and shoes too. 

“Mama certainly knows best how to look after her cub and mate,” he said aloud before making his way over to the bed, grabbing the pillows and blanket to cover them in the multicolored paint stained silk sheets. He was surprised that they went quite well with the decoration once he had made up the bed and he smiled, “Well, these will certainly save us a trip to the shops.” 

“What will?” Yifan asked as he appeared at the top of the stairs, covered in a pair of dark blue pajamas and his hair still damp from the shower. His eyes fell on the self designed sheets, “Oh right…they do actually look….” 

“Come here sleepy head,” Joonmyeon said softly, catching Yifan as he began to wobble and guiding him over to the bed where he set him down and set about tucking his giant omega in like he was a baby cub, “It’s way past someone’s bed time.” 

Yifan clung on to him, “Won’t sleep without you.” 

“I know, sweetie,” Joonmyeon said, kissing the top of his head again, “I just need to go get changed and brush my teeth. I’ll be ten minutes okay” 

A nod was his reply but Joonmyeon didn’t expect much more than that anyways. 

Laying on the bed whilst Suho went to use the shower, still half in a daze, Yifan found himself staring at his hands as though they were unreal. He knew his hands very well, everyone did, but right now they felt strange and almost like they did not belong to him in the slightest. Even though he was able to flex them anyway he wanted, stretch the long digits out as far as possible and then pull them back in to form a fist with ease they still didn’t quite feel like his at that moment in time. He wondered how it had been possible that he had touched Jongin on the shoulder, looked him straight in the eye and helped him calm down when no one else had been able to do so. How then it was possible for him to care for Tao, actually physically touch the boy with the intention of making him comfortable because he knew what it was like to have something horrible happening to your body. 

Granted there was an age difference and even Yifan had been able to tell that whatever was being inflicted upon the poor boy it was certainly not heat, which calmed his guilt down considerably. Yifan had always feared that his sons would go through the same trauma as he had, with the early on set heat as it was supposed to be genetic and it was the last thing that he had wanted for them. So at the age of fourteen he had agreed to have them tested for the same condition because they were beginning to reach the age where it had happened to him. It had not been an easy day in the slightest, Yifan lost track of the number of times he had wanted to bolt out of the room and away from the cubs that were playing around merrily but upon receiving the news that it was ninety per cent certain that the condition had not been passed down to the boys, the male omega had cried in relief for the better part of the night. 

Luhan had come home from school with a big bag of chocolates, a side order of bubble tea and a great big box of ice cream which the brothers had scoffed between them. They had consequently been very ill the next day after consuming that amount of sugar and had to take the time off school but neither one of them minded in the slightest because they just spent the day snuggled together in bed. Yulan had called them both a pair of silly fools but had not pushed the situation in the slightest because she was so grateful that Luhan would do anything to make his little brother feel better and as protected as could be. 

However knowing that Tao wasn’t in heat but had something else was worrying Yifan, because he didn’t know what it was and it had smelt so horrible. He felt like crying on behalf of the cub but couldn’t quite find it upon himself to do so. He couldn’t even decide how he felt about even helping his son. Part of him knew that it was a very good thing indeed, that it proved that he had been lying to himself all of these years and that the future he hoped for with Suho would be perfectly plausible as everyone said it would. He couldn’t even put it down to working with the kids at Hummingbirds because he had never quite done anything like that with any of them in the slightest, so it was a good sign that indeed his omega nurturing instincts were there. He had helped the cub without second thought, using a method that helped to cool the skin and calm down the irritation processes that the body went through when afflicted with heat. He had only experienced it once since his attack at eight, when he was thirteen and had caught a cold which turned into a flu which landed him in hospital and something in one of the antibiotics had countered the blockers and suppressants that he was on at the time. 

It had been a horrible experience, bringing back all sorts of nightmares and suppressed memories but thankfully Yulan and the omega staff had been there to deal with the problems as they came and it had been an angel of a beta who had first done the water and balm technique on him. Once Yifan had gotten over the initial harsh stages of the heat, Leeteuk had become a frequent career to him, seeming to know just exactly how to look after him. Now that Yifan thought about it, he wondered if Leeteuk was still in the hospital and working in Pediatrics because he would sure be a help to Tao. It still felt extremely weird though, to know that he had done the same routine on Tao as a perfectly natural instinct, it hadn’t even occurred to him to ask one of the staff. He had called his mother to ask her to bring the items that he needed and then as soon as she had arrived he had just started as if it were the most natural thing in the entire world. 

Yulan hadn’t questioned what he was doing and instead focused on Hyuna to keep her calm, and direct her through the routine almost as if it were second nature to her. In fact it was now that Yifan came to think of it because it was the same routine that she used on him whenever he was horrendously upset or having a raging fever. He made a mental note to try and teach it to the others at some point because it was a relaxing routine regardless of what it was being used for. It still felt strange though, knowing that he had used his knowledge to make his cub feel a whole lot better and he wondered if now would be a good time to react to it. 

Instead he was startled when his large right hand was taken, and two smaller, more intricate fingers landed on the center of his palm. “Walking round the garden,” Joonmyeon’s soft but caring voice came across to his hearing, causing the white ears to flutter whilst the fingers moved around the circumference of his palm, “Like a teddy bear. One step, two step...jumping everywhere!” 

The surprised but happy pearl of laughter that came from Yifan when Joonmyeon tickled him, caused a naturally happy and blooming smile to cross Suho’s face and he chuckled lightly along with Yifan. “Thought you had completely zoned out on me there,” Joonmyeon said softly, brushing some loose strands out of dark hair out of his omega’s face, “Are you feeling okay?” 

It was tempting to pass off the question with just a simple response but Yifan already knew that saying something like that would not work with Joonmyeon in the slightest. They knew each other too well and even though their mating mark was still only with Joonmyeon, it was enough to have a connection to one another. As fragile and soft as it was though Yifan knew that it had grown at least ten times stronger in the last two days. Slowly he let out a sigh and shook his head, “I don’t know what to feel right now,”   
Joonmyeon blinked and settled himself down next to Yifan, never letting go of his hand and continuing to just draw random little patterns on the palm with his fingers which was certainly soothing, “How do you mean?” 

“Well I just...I...I don’t know...” Yifan took a breath and shook his head, “I can’t even.” 

“Let it go,” Joonmyeon said softly, placing a hand on the nape of Yifan’s neck and squeezing ever so slightly, “Whatever you need to say, Fanfan, just say it.” 

For a second it was tempting to stay quiet, to just close himself off and hide away in a corner until it all exploded but that was a stupid idea because it would just lead him to problems and could cause him to relapse once again. Instead he took a deep breath and wrapped his hand tightly around the one which was currently drawing on him, “Promise you won’t run away?” 

“Cross my heart,” Joonmyeon said, not actually being childish or cheesy with the words as he instinctively knew that they were the ones that Yifan needed to heart, “Until I die, stick a needle in my eye should I tell a lie.” 

Yifan still playfully glared at him, “I’m being serious.” 

“So am I,” Joonmyeon said, “Nothing you say is going to make me run away from you Yifan. You are mine and mine alone.” Closing the gap between them, their lips met in a sweet kiss that lingered for a few seconds before he pulled back, “Talk to me.” 

Pondering his words, Yifan was silent for a good minute or so before finally he opened his mouth. “I just...I don’t get it,” he started off with slowly, “I don’t get today at all. I mean...I helped two of my cubs without prompting or knowing really what the hell I was doing. I just did it without thinking, without freaking out or hurting them in the slightest and I’m pretty sure that they should know better than to talk to strangers or accept help but they just took it without even questioning and they weren’t ever scared of me. Well Tao has a good excuse because god whatever is happening to him is horrible and no matter who it was, as long as someone was giving him relief from all of that pain and discomfort then he would welcome it because I’ve been there and it’s all you want in those moments. But then Jongin...Jongin didn’t even flinch and he’s got a complex about strange people sometimes, especially when he’s that angry and scared and he’ll lash out at anyone who tries to calm him down but I touch him and he just...just calmed down like that and did what I advised him to do and that shouldn’t happen but it did and now I just cannot figure it out.” 

Taking a breath, Yifan licked his lips, “I mean, every other time I’ve ever come in contact with my cubs, I’ve just wanted to run away and keep hidden from them because I’ve never been what they’ve needed in the slightest and this time, this time all I wanted to do was to bundle them up into my arms, hug them and make sure that all three are all right. I didn’t even go to Sehun because I knew that Jongin could look after his little brother but I really wanted to. I feel bad now for leaving him out of the loop but I just don’t know what else I could have done. That’s the most...the longest that I’ve ever really...excluding when they were so tiny and when I saw them today I just saw those little bundles of fluff and all I wanted to do was protect them. To keep them near me and...” 

He hiccupped back a sob which was trying to spill out of his lips but kept himself going, “Then I think back to earlier today when I freaked out on you for asking if our daughter could have a Hello Kitty room and it’s just not fair. I shouldn’t freak out over the future and yet be able to deal with the present so calmly because it’s not fair on you. I can’t control these feelings, I can’t work out how they’re going to work and what I should be doing at any time and I just...”   
A bigger sob escaped him, “Joonmyeon, what do I do? How do I even begin to explain this to anyone or to them? What happens if next time I freak out on them? If I relapse and try and hurt them. I know Xiumin said that things change when your mate comes back to you but I didn’t expect this and it’s just too fast and I’m so scared and I just...I just.” 

Breaking down fully into tears, Yifan didn’t notice that Joonmyeon carefully pulled him into a hug and just held him. He remained quiet throughout the sobbing, the heart breaking cries and then garbled words because he knew that Yifan needed this. The omega needed to release what was in his heart else it would ferment there and cause problems. However Joonmyeon knew something that Yifan did not know as of yet. The tears that he was crying now, though they appeared to be ones of stress and self damnation, were in fact ones of relief and acceptance. It would take Yifan a long time to realize this fact and also to understand the concept on the whole but finally it was clear that the omega was beginning to undo all of the hatred that he had directed to himself for supposedly allowing that stupid alpha to touch him. 

It was still early days and it was only the initial spark that would start the flame growing that would eventually burn away the self cycle of hatred to reveal what everyone knew already but Yifan had to realize it fully in himself. Yifan was innocent and had been from the very start. He had been an omega from the very start of his cubs lives, wanting nothing more than to protect them. He had called out for help on that rainy night for the sake of his cubs, to get them in the warm and dry, when Tao had slipped from his grasp he had frantically tried to save him but couldn’t move because of the pain so had told Joonmyeon in order to rescue the cub because he wanted him to be rescued. He had so desperately wanted his cubs to survive that night, cause despite everything that had happened to him and his mind and body not being in the least bit ready for all of this sudden change that had suddenly been thrust upon it, Yifan’s natural omega instincts wanted nothing more than to protect his cubs. To make sure that they survived the night and that they got to live. His wolf knew that it could not care for the cubs correctly but that didn’t mean that it was going to give up on them in the slightest and instead sought out love and protection for them because that was the best route to take.   
Yifan was a natural mother, a natural omega, who responded to situations instinctively because that was what he had to do in order to survive. It was the basic drive of any omega on the planet who had cubs and once Yifan stopped blaming himself for something that he could not have predicted or controlled in the slightest then he would realize that what he had been told was correct. That he could be a mother, that he was a mother and that his cubs were going to grow up healthy and fine because he had made the right choices on the night they were born. 

Of course, telling Yifan all of that right now would be a disastrous idea because the young man wouldn’t believe him. It was only the start of the self realization process and from what Joonmyeon had read up on the whole process – he had taken a course in psychology to get extra credit at university but not pursued it further because whilst it was fascinating, there were many aspects that were just a little bit too much for him to even try to begin to handle – this was the critical stage for Yifan. He was starting to change, starting to understand more clearly now than he had probably ever done in his life but shoving it in his face would just push him back a little bit too far and Joonmyeon did not want that. Of course he wanted to tell Yifan a million and one things about how he was perfect, about how he had done so much with only a few actions and that everything was going to be bright, wonderful and everything that the omega wanted and more. 

But that all had to come from the sobbing omega in his arms and that was still going to be a very long journey. 

After a long while, the wails and cries gave way to deep breathing, occasional hiccups and sniffles that had Suho searching for yet another handkerchief. When he got the chance to go shopping he was going to have to buy several hundred it appeared. “Here,” he said softly, not commenting on anything that Yifan had said and instead focusing on gently cleaning the other up, “Blow.” 

“I’m not a kid,” Yifan managed to garble out but did do as he was told and blew his nose into the handkerchief with Joonmyeon’s assistance. 

Lightly Joonmyeon kissed the top of Yifan’s head, “There, now come on, let’s get you tucked up in bed and I’ll go and fetch you some tea. How does that sound?” 

“Like you’re one of the characters in my romance stories,” Yifan said, a little on the sassy side but Joonmyeon knew that his omega was a very grumpy sod whenever he was really tired or being woken up in the morning, “You’re just too perfect.” 

“I am not,” Joonmyeon replied, carefully tucking Yifan in, “Believe me, I’m really not. Now you just stay there and I’ll go get you some tea.” 

“Can you ask Mama for the special one?” Yifan asked shyly, his eyes drooping closed as exhaustion was clearly playing on him and it would only be a matter of minutes before he was asleep. Joonmyeon tried not to giggle when the omega automatically grabbed a pillow to hug without realizing that he was doing it, “She’ll know the one.”

Nodding softly, Joonmyeon petted Yifan and headed out of the door, leaving it open. Instead of heading straight downstairs however, the young alpha reached the landing and stole straight into Yifan’s room finding it to be pretty much grown up version of how it used to be. Even down to the cuddly toys on the bed. It did not take him long to spot the one that he wanted, the Pirate Alpaca had been a favourite of Yifan’s since he was tiny and it had been one of the few things which had broken through his initial fear and rejection when Yulan and Luhan came to see him. 

Luhan had insisted on bringing it one day with him and Yifan had been so happy to see the toy that he had given it back to his big brother to bring back next time. In his words, “Ace would only be with good people,” and Luhan had cried so hard when he had hugged his little brother. 

Now though, Joonmyeon wanted Ace to make sure that Yifan had a good night and he smiled as he caught hold of the toy, “Time for you to work your magic, Acey.” Heading back to the couple room upstairs, a smile graced his lips as he found that Yifan was already fast asleep. Carefully removing the pillow that the omega was hugging, Joonmyeon replaced it with Ace and watched as the tall omega curled up with a happy expression. Ruffling the sleeping man’s hair, Joonmyeon once again stole downstairs but this time with the intention of actually grabbing hold of the tea that he had mentioned getting for Yifan. 

He wasn’t surprised to find Yulan sitting at the dining room table which was part of the kitchen with a tea pot, a selection of teas and a cup sitting in front of her. There was one set across from the dainty omega and she smiled up towards Joonmyeon when he approached, “What did he tell you?” 

“Lots of things,” Joonmyeon said, sitting down and pouring out the tea for the pair of them, finding himself smiling at the smell of jasmine, “He’s confused and frightened by what happened tonight but he’s not running away.” 

“Barely a day with you and the change is amazing,” Yulan hummed happily as she took a sip of the tea, “I should have let him go to the city with you all those years ago.” 

Joonmyeon shook his head, “I don’t think it would have helped much.” 

“Oh it would have but I didn’t want to let him go and I think Luhan would have tracked you down and beaten the living daylights out of you if he had gone,” Yulan sighed and then grinned, “You’re mother offered you know. Said that the house you were moving too was big enough.” 

Blinking in surprise at that statement, Joonmyeon nodded, “That’s my Umma. She loves Yifan just as much as me I think. Though she never mentioned that to me.” 

Yulan shook her head, “Probably didn’t want to upset you any further. Plus I think she understood my point of view on the matter.” 

Nodding his response, Joonmyeon took a long gulp out of his tea and let his senses roam just a little with the fragrance. He always like Yulan’s selection of teas, she knew just which one to pick for any given situation. Jasmine was a nice relaxing one and would help him to sleep no doubt. He’d probably need it after this day. 

“Joonmyeon,” Yulan said suddenly, disrupting the peace between them, “Don’t you go bottling anything up either mind. You may be new to all of this situation but you’re still going to be affected by it and whilst I know you will be strong for Yifan, don’t forget to have your own moments of release as well.” 

“Don’t worry, Mama,” Joonmyeon replied back with a slight smile on his face as he recalled the times when she had insisted on being called Mama by him because it was going to happen anyway. He was pretty sure that he even got the Chinese accents right on it as well for once, “Luhan will kick my arse into gear as will Kyungsoo and everyone else. Currently my focus is on Yifan and helping him but when I’m ready to break, I’ll break.” 

“Good,” Yulan said, smiling and exhaling out a little. 

Joonmyeon nodded and took another long drink of his tea, closing his eyes to just enjoy the sensation of peace and quiet. Slowly he opened his eyes, as his mind filled with a question all of a sudden, “Did Aunty tell you anything about Tao?”   
Nodding the woman took a sip out of her own tea, “Yes, she did.” 

“What do they think it is?” Joonmyeon asked carefully. 

“From what they’ve seen it appears to be some kind of infection,” Yulan said, “Possibly of the womb.” 

“Of the womb?” Joonmyeon asked with a frown. 

Yulan nodded, “Yes. Or the ovaries. There’s not a lot of confirmation of it yet but from what the Doctor was saying, it would appear to be something like that at the very least. Worst possible case is that it could be a cancer which would mean surgery because of his age.” 

“Cancer?” Joonmyeon asked, feeling like the world was dropping out of his stomach. 

“Yes, but the Doctors won’t know until they can conduct the tests correctly and that means letting whatever this apparent heat is run its course,” Yulan said, almost biting her fingers, “Hopefully it will stop soon for the poor baby.”   
Nodding, Joonmyeon exhaled and then stared at his tea, “I hope it’s not cancer.” 

“Me to,” Yulan said. “One of my school friends in China had something similar and she had to go through an operation which meant that she could never have children naturally.” 

Joonmyeon paled, “Let’s pray it doesn’t come to that for Tao.” 

“Indeed,” Yulan said and then tilted her head up towards the ceiling, “I think Yifan may be missing you.” 

Nodding at the thumping noise from above, Joonmyeon carefully finished his tea off and put the cup away in the sink before moving across to Yulan in order to press a kiss to her forehead and give her a hug. “Good night, Mama,” he said softly.   
“Good night, erzi,” Yulan replied, hugging him back and then letting Joonmyeon head back upstairs to cuddle with Yifan and hopefully ensure that he got something akin to a restful night’s sleep. She was hopeful though, for the first time in years that things were starting to look like they were really improving for her youngest and that made her feel absolutely wonderful. 

Reaching the bedroom, Joonmyeon discovered that the cause of the noise had been Yifan kicking one of the bedside dressers when he had changed his position around so that his head was at the foot of the bed. Why he liked to sleep like that no one knew but Joonmyeon did not question it. Instead he set his phone to charge, stuck it on silent mode and then untangled the blankets to spoon up happily against Yifan. “Good night, my love,” he whispered into the sleepers ears, “We’ll get through this together. I promise.” 

With that, he shut his eyes and fell fast asleep, holding onto Yifan and felt as though the pair of them were at peace.


	8. Chapter 7 - Whispered Coversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of sweet lemonade - i.e. smut - incoming in this chapter

The sun had barely begun to rise over the horizon when Jongin found himself being lightly shaken and a tiny little voice said, “Nini?” 

Opening his dark eyes, Jongin blinked a few times and then automatically shifted back on his bed to lift the covers up. His youngest brother quite frankly looked like a mess and there was no way that he was going to just sit by and let him suffer like that. The boys hair was a complete birds nest, almost as if he had been tearing at it with his fingers for half of the night and there were plenty of tear tracks across his pale face. There was also a lot of snot still dribbling out of his nose and normally Jongin would have teased the younger about it but felt no need to do so right now. Instead he allowed the younger to clamber into the bed with him and cuddle into his chest. Carefully Jongin pulled the blanket over their joint bodies and fished around under his pillow for a packet of tissues that he kept there. 

A couple of years ago, Sehun had gone through a phase of having nightmares and had become terrified of thunderstorms so if any happened then it would be fairly typical for the cub to curl up tightly with one of his elder brothers so both Jongin and Tao kept tissues under their pillow, because a frightened and tearful Sehun would turn into a snot-bag in next to no time. Jongin sighed gently and began cleaning his little brother up before lightly kissing him on the forehead, “How long were you up alone?”   
“Don’t know,” Sehun replied, his words slurred from the lack of sleep, the tears that he had been crying and the natural lisp he had which only really showed when he was really upset, “I…I just couldn’t…I…” 

“Hunnie,” Jongin replied quietly, trying to fight back his own tears, “You know that Taotao is strong right? That he’ll come out of this on top fighting form and he will be fine.” 

Sehun nodded his reply, “But why?” 

A shake of the head was all that Jongin could give, “I don’t know. But the Doctors will work it all out and fix him and then he’ll be back to play with us in no time. I’m sure of it.” 

A silence fell over the pair, as they just shared in their cuddles because even though they were really too young to understand, they had always had a way of just sharing in comfort without saying a single word. Jongin presumed that it was just a natural thing from when they were little cubs and Tao hadn’t been able to hear anything so they had just naturally assumed an language of touches and feelings that passed easily between the trio in a perfectly natural way. Softly his fingers began to run themselves up and down the back of Sehun’s neck, trying to lull the boy to sleep because he had probably been up hours crying to himself and for a while he believed that it had worked. 

Until a question came his way just as he was nodding off, “Nini, will we get the same thing happening to us when the heat starts?” 

Startling himself a little, Jongin shook his head before glancing down at Sehun and trying to imagine something like that happening. Then he really wished that he hadn’t because it made him terrified at the very thought. Subconsciously he pulled Sehun just a little closer and dug his nose into the crook of his neck, “No, no, no, Sehun, don’t say things like that. Nini doesn’t want to think of you or me in that sort of pain.” 

“But it could?” Sehun asked timidly, having always been the one who liked to explore everything even if it was a terrifying concept. The number of times that Sehun had gotten himself covered in mud digging for worms, soaked to the bone for trying to catch a newt or a frog or got stuck up a tree when he was trying to work out what type of bird was nesting were nearly uncountable, and his two elder brothers tried their hardest to keep his inquisitive nature under control but it never quite worked. Normally because Sehun would tell them some amazing fact or icky story about whatever it was that he was up to now and it would just spiral out of control from there really. Jongin was sure that when they reached their eighteenth birthday there were going to be a whole lot of very embarrassing photographs marked ‘The Adventurers’ but that was really thoughts for another time. 

Jongin sighed long and hard, “Hopefully not, Hunnie. But I’m sure that Umma and Appa will get us tested after this.” 

“No school today then?” Sehun asked with a little bit of a pout. 

Jongin shook his head, “No. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate.” 

“Me either,” Sehun said, cuddling back into his elder brother and glad to be able to indulge in the others scent. Jongin always reminded him of the cookies that Dragon Queen made for them, strawberries and white chocolate though there was just an undercurrent of earth and leaves that made everything balance. Sehun had once described Jongin’s scent of being like an picnic in a raining park which had everyone laughing away because it was just so cutely accurate and Sehun very much liked that scent. Kai had not been overly thrilled with the notion of course but when Taemin had agreed, he had stopped trying to argue about it. 

Though as the youngest of the cubs inhaled the calming scent of his brother, he once again found the other scent. The one from the man who had been able to calm Jongin down and make him come over to Sehun to give him cuddles and comfort. For a few seconds Sehun thought of leaving it alone for the time being but his natural curiosity had him sniffing deeper around his brother’s shoulders to try and work out the scent. It reminded him of rain and hot chocolate but it wasn’t quite the right sort of smell to be that. It was fleeting and diminished because Jongin had been in the shower before bed but it was still there. Jongin let out a little giggle and lightly pushed Sehun’s nose out of his neck, “Stop it, that tickles.” 

“Why do you smell of hot chocolate?” Sehun asked, pulling back instead of continuing to try and tickle his elder brother as he usually would. 

Jongin blinked and opened his mouth to ask why Sehun was asking all of these weird questions when his mind automatically fell back to the male omega who had indeed calmed him down. Tilting his head to the side, Jongin tried to think how best to phrase his words because it was just a little too early in the morning to be going into this sort of conversation but even he was curious about it. “I think it’s the scent of the man who calmed me down.” 

“The one who had a connection to you?” Sehun asked, his lisp really coming across now, “And to me?”

Jongin nodded, “Yeah. He seemed to be a really nice Mister.” 

Lightly Sehun licked his lips, “Was he with Susu?” 

“Yeah, he was,” Jongin replied, too tired to try and steer the conversation away from this topic because normally it just ended up going around in circles for hours. 

Sehun blinked, “And you saw him go and see Taotao?” 

“Yes,” Jongin replied, sighing, “He had white ears and had to be an omega cause they weren’t letting Appa or Susu go anywhere near Tao.” 

Sehun blinked and started playing with Jongin’s pajama top, nipping the fabric with his fingers, “Nini…” 

“I know,” Jongin replied, petting the boy, “I think…maybe.” 

“Only maybe?” Sehun sounded a little on the shocked side. 

“It’s late, Sehun,” Jongin said before glancing at his clock and correcting himself, “It’s too early to be working out stuff about Dragon Queen. We need to go to sleep. Sleep will be good for us.” 

A pout crossed Sehun’s face, as it always did when he didn’t quite get the way that he wanted but Jongin was quick to intervene by pulling on his brothers nose. “We can’t think good when we’re sleepy and if we want to find Dragon Mama then we have to think good, right?” 

A hum of disapproval came from Sehun but it was swiftly followed by a long, loud yawn that was matched by Jongin before the pair of them curled up tightly together. They didn’t even manage to whisper out any form of goodnights before their heavy little eyes were firmly closed and the sand man was very quick to arrive at their bed. 

Jinsoo smiled softly as he clicked the door closed and returned to the telephone call which he had been taking before he was distracted by the sound of two little voices in the adjacent room. “It’s okay, Hyuna, they were just talking to one another. Sehun’s in bed with Kai right now.” 

“I thought he would be,” Hyuna replied, “Though I’m surprised he didn’t try to come and cuddle with you.” 

Jinsoo chuckled, “He’s going through the phase of thinking most alphas have cooties or something. Just like Kyungsoo did when he was their age.” 

“He still technically does,” Hyuna replied, “How is he doing, by the way?” 

“Passed out the moment he got home, hasn’t even had a shower or a bath or anything,” Jinsoo sighed, “I’m going to keep him off tomorrow as well. He won’t be able to cope after all of this. The school won’t mind, the last report I had from them he was already ahead of most of his classmates so I think he can afford a day off.” 

“That’s my baby,” Hyuna replied before sighing. “Though what am I to do about our other baby?” 

“Look after him like you always have done, my sweet omega,” Jinsoo said with a soft sigh, “You’re still his Umma and that’s not going to change in the slightest. You’ve wanted Kris to bond with his cubs for years and now it appears to be happening.”   
“I know,” Hyuna replied with a touch of a whine, “I guess I just didn’t expect it to be like this. You should have seen him, if I didn’t know better…he’s a natural. He just dealt with it and I stood there like an idiot.” 

Jinsoo sighed, “There is a difference, my love, a very horrible difference and I’m sure if you ask, Kris will teach you the method he used because he wants the best for his cubs and you are the best.” 

“That makes me feel a lot better,” Hyuna replied, “But there again, you always know what to say to make me feel better.” 

“Part of my job, sweetie,” Jinsoo replied, “Now do yourself a favour. Get off the phone, go back to the ward and snuggle with your little panda bear and be there when he wakes up and wants his Umma to molly coddle him to death. Worry about Kris later.”   
Hyuna chuckled, “I’m not worried about him coming back into the cubs lives. I’m worried he won’t come back.” 

“If Kyungsoo were going through something like this, would you leave him?” Jinsoo asked. 

“No…” Hyuna sighed, “I hope you’re right.” 

“You know I am,” Jinsoo said, “Now go and get some sleep love. You’re going to need it.” 

After exchanging a couple more sweet sentiments towards one another, Hyuna finally hung up the telephone call and let out an exhale before sending a quick reply message to Yulan to let her know everything was perfectly fine at home. She then turned back to the hospital, after turning her mobile off and headed back in. It took what felt like mere seconds to be back on the ward and she smiled softly at her son who was thankfully still resting soundly after his special bed bath, curled up tightly around the large panda teddy that had been brought in for him. 

Hyuna reached across to gently pet his ears, “You’re Mama really does know how to look after you, doesn’t he my little panda?” 

There came a slight little shuffle from Tao as his ears were gently petted and he turned very slowly over onto his side so that he was facing her. Hyuna smiled softly as she kicked off her shoes and clambered to lie on the bed next to her not quite so little cub, “Shh, it’s okay. Umma’s here.” She spoke gently, knowing fine well that Tao wouldn’t be able to hear her but needing to say something in order to fill the silence. She kept on petting his white ears to let him know that she was there for him and found a contented little sigh escaping her lips. 

Slowly Tao’s dark eyes opened, looking even more heavier set now than they usually did with his deep eye bags which everyone thought was an adorable look and he whimpered lightly as he hugged up to her. “I know baby, I know,” Hyuna said softly, running her fingers through his hair and wrapping her other arm around him in an protective hug which would hopefully settle down any worries he may be having right now. “Umma’s here for you, she’ll be with you the whole time.” 

A huff was her reply but from experience Hyuna knew that it was Tao’s way to telling her that he understood what she was saying even though he couldn’t actually hear her right now. He was cuddled in tightly, lapping up her soothing scent and trying his best to not show his discomfort that was steadily beginning to grow once again but his Umma knew him well enough. Very gently she guided his head up to look at her and waited until Tao had given her the double blink to confirm that he could see what she was saying to him. “Are you feeling hot again?” Hyuna asked slowly, making sure to pronounce each word correctly for the young cub. 

Tao’s ears flicked downwards in an instant and he nodded his head rapidly, whimpering in panic and surprise when Hyuna began to move away from him. “Hush, it’s going to be fine. Umma is just going to get some supplies to help you feel a bit more comfortable. Just like your Mama did before, you’d like that right?” 

Blinking repeatedly in surprise, Tao could only nod in response as he felt a million different questions spring through his mind. Hyuna, having not realized what she had said, smiled sweetly, petted his ears once again and gave him a kiss on top of his head, “Umma will be right back, Mister Panda will keep you company for now though, okay?” 

Once again Tao nodded, still bewildered at what the woman was doing before he watched her hurry off. He blinked and looked down at the toy which had been placed into his hands and felt a little frown cross his face. He didn’t own a panda bear teddy, well not like this one. This one was long, just about half his size and had a soft squidgy tummy that was really fluffy and just smelt so wonderful. Tao found himself wrapping around the strange toy, which was unusual because he normally took a lot of time to warm up to anything new but there was that smell again. The one that made him think of cozy winter nights and he felt something inside him twitch. It wasn’t this strange heat, that much the youngster knew but it was something very different indeed.   
Then his Umma’s words filtered back into his brain and his eyes snapped open, having half lidded themselves out of nothing more than habit when he liked to think. His Umma had said that his Mama knew how to look after him, which was a strange sentence but it also made the cub gulp in a mixture of emotions. He wanted to start crying all over again but he was also so confused and apprehensive about asking what Hyuna had meant by those words. Thankfully just at that moment she came back and with his mind filled with the thoughts of something he had been chasing for a while, Tao reached across to catch hold of the woman’s arm, “Umma?” 

Hyuna turned to her adopted son, “Yes, Tao? What do you need?” 

It was surprising to hear him talk but she would just accept it for now, the poor little dear was probably too hot to even think how to use his sign language right now. 

“You said…before…that Mama…” the words stuck in his throat, to many emotions beginning to conflict themselves as the terrible heat back again, “But you’re Umma…not Mama.” 

For a second Hyuna found her heart plummeting to the floor before she sighed and reached across to give her son a kiss on his forehead. She gently pulled back, making sure that Tao could fully see her, “Your Mama was here, he was the one who gave you the bath that I’ll give to you.” 

Tao startled for a second, looking down before looking up at Hyuna again, “For real?” 

Hyuna nodded, “Yes, my little one. He’s gone home for now but he may be back later.” 

“Is…Suho with…Mama?” Tao asked, his words slowing down even more than before because the heat was really about to come back at him full throttle it appeared. 

Once again his Umma nodded, as she smiled that knowing smile, “Yes. Don’t expect too much yet Panda, he’s still got a lot of recovery to do.” 

Nodding in response, Tao looked down at the toy next to him and hugged it a little closer. Though he grabbed hold of his Umma’s hand and pulled it close. “Umma, I love you to the moon and back,” he said softly, reciting one of his favourite childhood stories books because he could only begin to imagine how scary it would be for Hyuna, the woman who had raised him like he was her own flesh and blood to know that his real birth mother was starting to come back into his life after a period of being away for too long. “You’re the best Umma ever.” 

A smile graced Hyuna’s lips as she reached across to once again kiss Tao on the forehead and hug him close, “Thank you. I love you all the way to the very distant stars and back. Don’t start worrying about me being selfish over you and your brothers though, I’ve been waiting for the day that your Mama would come back for you because he really does love you all so much.” 

Nodding, the happy little bubble which had surround the pair faded quickly as the terrible heat once again took hold of the small fragile body and forced itself through the skin. It was heavier than the first time, more intense and spikey which made getting comfortable even more impossible and even though Hyuna followed everything that Kris had done to help Tao, it was clear that there was something else at play here. Something was going very different and after half an hour, Hyuna could only rush to find a nurse or a doctor because Tao started to cough up blood. There was chaos in the ward after that, so many people trying to run around, get everything sorted and work out a possible cause of this whole terrible affair. 

Tao tried his best to hug onto his bear, to calm his raging heart and follow the instructions that were being delivered to him but with each new wave of pain he found it even more impossible to concentrate and just wanted this whole ordeal to be over. He cried, wailed, probably scratched a few people and had to fight off the instinct to change. To become a little mewling wolf cub who could escape from all of this terrible pain and suffering and find a nice little rock to hide under. That actually sounded like a good idea, away from these people who had grabby hands. There was a rational part of Tao’s mind that knew fine well that he was in no immediate danger and that the people around him were just trying to help but it was just too hot and he was so confused and terrified because this feeling wasn’t anything nice in the slightest and he just wanted it all to end. 

Then it did, or maybe Tao had just stopped focusing on the pain and retreated well into the depths of his mind because he found himself waking up very slowly as the sunlight crept in through the windows. Painfully he blinked, his whole body feeling exhausted and like he had gone through ten full practice matches without any body armor to protect him and Tao just wanted to weep. Though he was too exhausted to even do that. Vaguely he noted that he was in a different room, away from the clean white ward that he had been in before and was now in a place that was much more friendlier. Granted the walls were still white and there was still that clinging hospital smell but there were happy cartoon characters painted on the wall, the very light blanket he was covered with was pink with blue horses on it and on the window sill there was a very bright display of flowers in a vase. 

Tao guessed that he was in some kind of private room and it was easy to tell why as his nose picked up the smell of his own body fluids which made him cringe. Before he could start worrying about that though, the door to his room opened and a male beta with light pink hair walked in. The man was of average height, with an oval face and a smile that was practically angelic. Tao felt immediately safe with this beta and instinctively knew that he would never hurt so much as a fly without bursting into tears over it.   
Seeing that the young boy was awake, the man smiled softly and approached him. “Hello Tao,” he spoke gently and slow enough as not to be rude but allowed the half exhausted boy to understand him, “I’m Leeteuk and I’m your Doctor. I just came to check up on you and it’s good to see you awake.” 

Nodding, Tao could only just point to a glass next to him which Leeteuk filled with clear water and handed across, “Ah, that’s a good sign indeed. Now I know you’re still not feeling one hundred per cent well yet but I’ll get some of the orderlies to clean you up and then we can begin running a few tests just to check that whatever this horrible thing was has stopped. Then we’ll be able to sort you out and hopefully get you home quicker, would you like that?”   
Once again Tao nodded before looking around the room, “Where’s Umma?” 

“She’s gone home to get some new clothes,” Leeteuk said softly, “It’s been a rough couple of days.” 

That did not surprise Tao in the slightest but he still leant back against his pillows in shock. Leeteuk smiled, “I’ll give her a call and tell her to come back quickly. I’m sure she’ll be racing regardless. Now I’ll go and get one of our nice nurses and she’ll give you a hand okay?” 

Before Tao could begin to nod, Leeteuk had bent down to pick something off of the floor and smiled happily at the large panda, “Ah, what’s this little fellow doing on the floor? He’s much better right here isn’t he?” 

Tao smiled as the bear was handed back to him and he cuddled into the warmth, glad to indulge the smell just a little bit more. Though the most interesting thing for him to discover, was that the smell of his Mama was a lot stronger than what it had been. 

~*~

There was fresh tea in the pot and Kris couldn’t help but smile as he found his mother once again passed out on the sofa with her mobile phone in her hand. She probably hadn’t gotten much sleep last night once again and with a soft sigh he moved across to scoop her gently up, aware that Suho was already moving back across the room to open doors and to pull back her blankets on her bed to let her rest. It had almost become an common occurrence over the last two days but it was also something that was very precious and cherished. Not that Kris didn’t already treasure his mother, as far as he was concerned she was one of the strongest women on the planet who had single handedly dealt with all of his problems with only the required help from the outside world. She was a warrior goddess in the eyes of everyone, never once complaining or jumping to conclusions about her baby boys and always the one that everyone could turn to in times of need. 

Sometimes Kris would feel so guilty for dragging her through the uttermost levels of hell that he must have put her through but every time he tried to apologies, the woman had merely took his face into her hands and stared him straight in the eye. “Yifan,” she would tell him, “I would kill for you, I would give me life up for you and nothing will ever change that fact in the slightest. You know it in your heart so stop being soppy with me.” 

Of course, the truth was at times that Yulan really did need someone to be soppy over her, to look after her and make her start to relax and smile freely once again. Luhan fulfilled that role when he could, trying his best to whisk his mother away on well deserved holidays or else just for a night out to see a show or to go for a meal just to allow her some respite and over the last few months Yifan had been trying to do the same. He would always owe a huge amount of debt to his mother, regardless of what she would say because without her, the omega was convinced that he would have given into the despair which plagued him day and night throughout the long years. 

Giving a little smile of thanks to Suho as he helped to lay his mother down in the bed, Yifan was careful as he tucked the woman in and vaguely began to wonder when her gorgeous facial lines had become so deep. He knew that it was merely part of the aging process but there was a part of his heart that did not want to see his Mama looking so old. Did not want to accept that she was beginning to wither away, especially when he had so much to return to her and to make her feel for all the long years she had suffered alone. He gently tucked her in, making sure that she was warm and sleeping comfortably before pressing a kiss to the woman’s forehead, “Yúkuài de mèngxiǎng māmā.” 

There came a light shuffling from the older woman on the bed before she huffed happily and settled down to sleep. Yifan let out his own little happy sigh before leaning forward to press his lips to her forehead and then stepped away. 

Suho was waiting for him at the door with a knowing smile and as it clicked shut, he beckoned the taller omega to him to press a kiss to his lips, “You’re so cute, you little Mama’s boy.” 

Yifan let out a small laugh, “Shush. I’m allowed to look after Mama.” 

“You’re allowed to look after whoever you like, Yifan,” Suho replied with his own deep set smile, stealing another kiss off the other because he still couldn’t quite get enough of those oh so tempting lips. “No one will complain at you about that.” 

Sighing, Yifan lightly pushed Suho away as he started down towards the stairs as he understood the concept behind those words but they still felt oh so foreign to him at the same time. Almost as if it were someone else who should be hearing them, rather than himself though he knew fine well that everyone was praising him for his help with Tao. He tried to hide the happy smile that automatically crossed his face at that thought but it was impossible to hide anything from his mate. A smaller hand slipped naturally into his large one and squeezed tightly, “Are you going to see him after the appointment today?” 

Pausing in his steps for a few seconds, Yifan sighed long and hard, “I don’t know…” 

“Yifan…” Suho started. 

“It’s hard, okay, I mean…well it’s not…it’s just…” Yifan fidgeted with the others fingers as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, “If we go after the appointment then…they’ll be there too, cause it’s just after their school time and….” 

Waiting patiently, Suho felt all the emotional turmoil that was going on in Yifan’s heart as their bond really had become much stronger over the last few days, but it also allowed the alpha to note something that was very surprising indeed. However, he was going to allow Yifan to say it first though his own excitement was beginning to grow. He could hardly begin to describe the sensation of watching his omega care for the sick cub, how he just gravitated naturally towards Tao and helped in whatever way that he could without questioning what he was doing or throwing himself into a massive panic over it. But what had been really more amazing was when he had asked Hyuna about the other two boys, about how Sehun and Kai were doing with all of this and if they were eating fine and behaving themselves and a million more questions. 

It was the first time that Suho remembered seeing Yifan so interested in his cubs, or at least willing to openly talk about them and whilst part of him couldn’t quite believe that it was all happening so fast, there was a part of him that understood. That final little missing piece of the puzzle which was helping Yifan to resolve all of his worries and become the omega that he was supposed to be. The alpha in his heart knew exactly what the lost omega needed and would do anything to give him that. To ground the other, to give him a purpose, a protection, safety that would never go away and always would be there. Whilst many omegas claimed that this was nothing more than macho alpha talk, Suho could see that it wasn’t because the omega’s were weak willed for wanting to be protected, it was their very nature to be protected and guided because they were emotional creatures that focused on whatever was theirs just a little too much.   
Just like what Yifan was unconsciously doing right now, though he was still so unsure of himself. 

“What do I even begin to tell them?” Yifan finished, “They’ll have hundreds of questions and…I can’t tell them.” 

“You don’t need too,” Suho said, stepping closer once again, glad he was on a higher step cause it made him the same height as his tall, lovely omega, “They’re smart boys, they won’t pry.” 

“How can you know that?” Yifan asked, shaking his head from side to side, “They’ll want to know everything.” 

“Yes, they will but…I think they’ll understand that there are some parts of your past that you cannot talk about right now,” Suho reached up to gently pet Yifan’s ear, “They know something of your past, I don’t know fully what or how much but they know it’s an area not to tread lightly and they’ll be more happy to discover who their Dragon Queen is.” 

“That I can confirm,” a few voice cut into the conversation suddenly, causing both young men to jump in surprise as Luhan appeared with a goofy grin on his face. He immediately flicked his fingers towards his little brothers forehead and stuck his tongue out at Suho out of nothing more than habit. “I’ve had to fend off the questions about you for the past two days from both Sehun and Kai and trust me, those boys don’t care about the past. They just want to meet their Mama in person.” 

Yifan looked pale, “What did you tell them?” 

“That when the time was right, they could ask you themselves,” Luhan grinned, “I’m not going to spoil that moment for you, didi, that wouldn’t be fair in the slightest.” 

Gulping, Yifan looked down, “I still…I just…” 

“Tao’s awake,” Luhan cut in, “The heat or whatever the hell it was has passed, he’s cuddled up to your panda plush like it’s his most favourite toy in the whole wide world and he’s trying to keep it all to himself because it smells like you. He smells like you because you’ve been molly collying him for the past two days and there’s no way that you’ll escape them now if you try to run away.” Luhan’s words were gentle, encouraging and hopeful, “Whether you want to admit it or not, didi, the cubs have your scent now and they’ll track you down.” 

There was a pause before Luhan added, “Once Tao’s safely out of hospital and able to move around without any help of course.” 

“They would do that?” Yifan asked, sounding bewildered. 

“Yep,” Luhan replied with a grin, “Or they’ll bug Aunty Hyuna to death until she gives in and tells them what they want to know and then come find you.” 

Yifan found himself suddenly sitting on the bottom step, his head in his arms and Suho knelt next to him, arms wrapping safely around the other’s shoulders. Softly he nuzzled at Yifan, “It’s okay to feel a little overwhelmed by all of this, if it’s moving too fast then…” 

“No,” Yifan said, shaking his head and looking up towards Suho with eyes that were glistening ever so slightly but they held a look of determination in them as well, “I mean…yes I’m overwhelmed and this is moving too fast and everything but…but…”   
There was a heavy pause in the air, as if Yifan knew the words that he wanted to say but couldn’t think of how to say it. 

Suho however was easily able to fill it in for him, “You want to see them, don’t you?” 

A silent pause was his response for a few long seconds before Yifan nodded. He sighed through his nose and looked down at his hands, “Ever since…I touched Kai. I just want…to…well…” 

“I’ll let Aunt know to expect us,” Luhan replied, stepping away softly with a smile on his lips as he could easily tell that this was a conversation that only Yifan and Suho were meant to have together. “I’ll rustle us up some breakfast cause it’s going to be a long day.” 

Nodding this thanks to Luhan, Joonmyeon waited until the other alpha was out of sight before wrapping his arms tightly around Yifan’s neck. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered into the soft, silk ears and nuzzled against him. 

Yifan hiccupped ever so slightly, hugging Joonmyeon back, “I don’t understand.” 

“Understand what?” Joonmyeon asked softly, continuing to pet Yifan. 

“How you’ve managed to change me so much in barely any time,” Yifan replied quietly, “I was a wreck, a complete emotional idiot who couldn’t stand the thought of letting my sons see me and now all I want to do is hold them and make sure that they’re safe even though I know it but I won’t be satisfied until I see them with my own eyes and touch them with my own hands and just…” Yifan pulled back from the hug that Joonmyeon had him in to look at him in the face. His hands moved slowly to cup the soft features and it was clear that he was close to tears once again, “Why…why wasn’t it like this... before?” 

Joonmyeon smiled, “Because we were both still children, Yifan, we didn’t know much about the world or how we fitted into it and even though we’re still kids in a way even now, we have each other and we both know that together we can do anything.” 

Confusion of the uttermost kind crossed Yifan’s face and Joonmyeon sighed lightly as he took hold of the hands on his face to just hold them a little tighter in a more natural position. “I don’t think I’ll ever be fully able to explain it or even begin to understand it myself, but what’s different from then and now is really quite simple.” 

A curious blink was his reply and Joonmyeon smiled softly, “You’re off the blockers, Yifan. The suppressants are gone from your system.” 

There was a very heavy pause as the omega in his arms tried to process this and Joonmyeon couldn’t help but almost start immediately cooing at the other because he just looked so cute like this. Finally he began to understand what his other alpha friends meant about omegas looking so damn cute when they were facing up to the fact that they were actually what they were supposed to be. It was a stage that virtually every omega on the planet went though, the moment when they couldn’t fathom out just what they were doing or how this all worked and how they instinctively knew what to do in regards to any cub that they had. It was typically the reaction they had just before they really became ready to have a family of their own and Joonmyeon was glad that he was there to personally witness it. 

“Yifan, you are an omega,” Joonmyeon said softly, “You’re maturing.” 

A look of fear crossed Yifan’s face, “But…no…that’s…I shouldn’t be doing…” he paused and seemed to think about it carefully for a few seconds, “I’ve only been off them a week. Even less.” 

“I think you’ve been off them a while longer than that,” Joonmyeon said, smiling softly at the other, “You’re scent is strong and that’s why the cubs will know it all the more. You’re almost ready to be a mother.” 

An audible gulp came from Yifan but there was no overriding scent of fear coming off him, there was a touch of fear there but there was mainly a scent of someone coming to learn something very important about themselves. His dark eyes rose to look up at Joonmyeon in wonder, “But…but I…” 

“Yifan, omega’s naturally know how to care for cubs, it’s part of your DNA and makes you that way from birth,” Joonmyeon was more than glad that he had forced himself to read through one of the omega puberty books which he had managed to wrangle off one of his friends because even though it had sure as hell had been a difficult read, it made him understand a lot more about what was going on with his own omega and that was something so precious that he could not believe his luck right now. “But not all omegas are immediately ready to become mothers from their first heat. In fact many of them take a long time to even reach that mindset because of a number of different factors. Mates being one of them but it’s possible for an omega to reach the required maturity without one by their side.” 

He felt a little like he was reciting from the book right now, but Joonmyeon wasn’t aware if Yifan had ever read a copy of it and made a mental note to try and get him one just in case. It would probably gross the other out completely and result in him getting hit but it was something that would help hopefully. “But what you’ve gone through, was not normal and it’s affected your bodies maturity level completely. I mean, normally omegas who go through something similar to you don’t reach this level but…” 

“It’s you,” Yifan said slowly, letting out a sigh though it could have been easily mistaken for relief, “All of this…is because of you.” 

Joonmyeon shrugged, “I guess. I hope so.” 

Looking up again at his mate, Yifan barely kept track of when he looked down at the ground because all he could see were Joonmyeon’s toes which he wanted to play with so much, the omega felt his heart flutter at the thought that his body was preparing itself to become a mother. Though this time, properly, without springing it on him unawares and attacking him in a violent manner. A sudden urge caught Yifan, one that he was sure to be blushing like mad about later but for once he wasn’t going to leave his thoughts and feelings hanging in the balance. 

Taking a single steadying breath, the omega leaned forward to close the gap and allowed their lips to lock together in a synchronised dance that both of them knew very well. Joonmyeon allowed Yifan to take the lead, easily able to work out where this was all going but not wanting to push the other into doing something that he didn’t want. This was going to be very testing ground indeed and he really didn’t want to hurt Yifan but the warm scent that was coming off the omega right now was so utterly tempting that he couldn’t stop the protective little growl from escaping from his throat. 

Yifan pulled back a little in shock, looking to be worried as if he had done something wrong but Joonmyeon was quick to grin and pull Yifan back into his body, locking his legs around the others torso gently, “Mine.” 

A blush raced across Yifan’s face at the implications of that word and his throat went dry with worry and just a little bit of panic but it was suddenly replaced by something else. Looking directly at Joonmyeon right now, the omega could see that the alpha was turned on by him, that he wanted to ravish him slowly and lovingly and there was a dominance about Joonmyeon that really melted his heart right at that second. He knew that Joonmyeon would look after him, would care for him because he didn’t want him for lust or passion or something meaningless, Joonmyeon wanted to make love to him. The alpha pheromones were oh so strong at that moment and Yifan had to brace himself against the banister just to ground his reality for a moment because it was just so tempting to give himself over and submit to this alpha. The one alpha who had held his heart so tenderly all of these years and never once complained or tried to make a big fuss about anything. The alpha who had always been there, always waiting, always concerned and always the one who kept his promises. 

There were no lies in Joonmyeon, nothing to fear, nothing to run away from and certainly nothing that would cause Yifan any pain willingly. 

Before Yifan could even being to think of following through on his wish to be devoured by the alpha in front of him, the pair were jolted temporarily out of their little world when a towel and a pair of dirty socks landed on them unexpectedly. “No sex on the stairs,” Luhan cut in, having come back to grab something that he had forgotten, “Mama won’t like it. Take it to your bedroom.” 

“Luhan!” Joonmyeon yelled towards his friend, picking up the socks to throw back at him because they were probably his to begin with. Fully expecting to turn around and find a distressed Yifan, Joonmyeon was more startled when he found Yifan laughing at their predicament, a genuinely bright smile on his lips and little eye smiles to accompany the whole look. 

Luhan rolled his eyes as he continued on, “Upstairs, didi! Otherwise Mama really will kill you for staining the carpet.” 

“Like you never did that with your bedsheets,” Yifan shot back towards his brother, startling both the alphas because it had been such a long time since the omega had dared to talk back to them. 

The elder brother grinned for a second before glaring at Joonmyeon, “Stop corrupting my little brother! He was a sweet innocent angel until you turned up.” 

“Nothing to do with me,” Joonmyeon said, holding up his hands in surrender before his expression changed just a fraction and he turned to look back at Yifan. “Though I think it may be a good idea to get you upstairs actually. Unless you want your Gege to watch.” 

Both brothers let out identical shrieks of surprise at that statement and Joonmyeon could barely contain his own laughter as he quickly clambered off the stairs he was on, grabbed hold of Yifan’s hand and promptly dragged him upstairs. Luhan immediately began yelling at him in Chinese which caused Yifan to start laughing once again and Joonmyeon was too caught up in the most heavenly sound to even begin to work out what he was being called. From the way that Yulan banged opened the door and shrieked down the stairs at her eldest it was clear that it was nothing pleasant in the slightest but Joonmyeon was more focused on Yifan at that point and made sure to close the door that led to their bedroom. 

Yifan was still chuckling away to himself, as Joonmyeon pulled him close and crashed their lips together in a hungry manner, feeling his heart begin to pound wildly as the omega responded positively. They didn’t break their heated kiss, which had moved from lips to full on tongue movement between the pair of them until Yifan was seated on the bed with his hands resting on Joonmyeon’s hips. That was enough to temporarily bring Joonmyeon back to his senses and he broke off the heated kiss for a few seconds, “Yifan…” 

The other whined, “What?” 

“I know you want this,” Joonmyeon said slowly, “I can smell it on you but you’re the one in control. I need you remember that.” 

“Okay,” Yifan said, calming down a little and beginning to shiver a little as nerves played at his heart, “But you wouldn’t hurt me. I know that.” 

Joonmyeon smiled, “I know that but I don’t want to make this uncomfortable for you and I don’t want you to push yourself because you think you owe me or something. So before we go much further, I’m going to set a safe word with you. Of your choosing and it’ll be the word that means I’m to stop. No matter what is going on, if you’re not happy or are in pain or just want to change something, then you say the word and I’ll do it for you.” 

A blush crossed Yifan’s face, “Really?” 

“I love you Yifan,” Joonmyeon said, kissing Yifan passionately, “I’m not going to let you push me away but this is something that is really important for the pair of us. It means that we’re both on the same playing field, that you can trust me and that I know you’ll be safe. This is about you, this is for you, my little omega, and I want you to enjoy it.” 

Virtually the whole of Yifan’s face was now a scarlet red colour and idly he played with the buttons on Joonmyeon’s shirt as he thought about where this was all leading to. He smiled softly, “Dumplings.” 

Hearing that, Joonmyeon nodded and the next second the pair were once again locked into a heavy battle of tongues and teeth as they physically began to express their mutual feelings for one another. Yifan found himself laying back on the bed, Suho hovering over him but not an ounce of fear lingered in his heart or mind because he knew that he was in fully safe hands right now. 

It was oddly strange, Yifan reflected as their lips continued to mold together in a sensual dance that was only designed for the pair of them, to not be afraid of this. Sure he was nervous and couldn’t quite silence the small bit of his mind that wanted to desperately freak out but he also found that the endorphins running around his body were creating a feeling that was good. This was right, this was what he had never allowed himself to experience after what that horrible man had done to him all those years ago. This was soft touches, gentle caresses that were unhurried in their movements and made Yifan crave them all the more. This was soft, timely and just everything that he wanted it to be. 

They pulled apart after a good five minutes of making out, panting heavily with silly smiles on their faces but none of that mattered. Without uttering a word to one another, they removed each other’s shirts with careful hands and Yifan let out a gentle moan as the first sensation of Joonmyeon’s hand on his skin. Sure he had felt it before, too many times to count, but this was completely different from all those other times. This was really the first time that Joonmyeon was touching him, exploring his body with his hands as if it were the most precious thing in the entire world and that thought was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. The hand on his chest was quickly joined by a second, then a pair of lips which gently marked the skin and left visible love bites everywhere that just looked cute and adorable to Joonmyeon. 

Finishing his latest bite, Joonmyeon raised himself up a little to admire his work only to let out a surprised moan of his own when Yifan gently placed a thumb over one of his nipples to rub at it. Yifan pulled back in shock, looking as though he was terrified of getting scolded but Joonmyeon just grinned and took hold of Yifan’s hand once again to guide it back to the nipple, “Do that again.” 

Blushing in surprise at the others tone, Yifan did indeed touch Joonmyeon’s nipple again and after a few moments to gain his confidence, he used his other hand to touch the other one. Carefully he caressed the pair, finding his own body responding to the moans that were coming out of the alpha above him and finally he felt an natural surge towards Joonmyeon. His lips found the others skin a little on the salty side, but it reminded Yifan of the popcorn at the cinema that he loved to steal off Luhan whenever he got the chance and pretty soon he was devouring the skin to leave just as many love bites on his alpha as he had left on his body. Their movements became frantic and heated, though still soft and gentle, probing, guiding, exploring and it was more than Yifan could have ever hoped for. 

To be in this position, to be able to physically express his love for the alpha and have it returned to him at the same moment, to share and explore all these strange feelings and sensations to find out what was just right and what was not the right way to go was simply mind blowing. They did not go the fully way, Yifan panicking a little when his trousers were tugged down and making him say the safe word but true to his word Joonmyeon stopped and helped him through it. They worked together, figuring out everything slowly and with precise motions. They missed several calls from Hyuna but neither of them really cared or minded in that moment because all they had to focus on was simply pleasuring their partner. Joonmyeon smiled as he found himself in his birthday suit first, not minding in the slightest as Yifan tentatively explored his body and asked cute little questions occasionally until the alpha side of him decided to just give the omega a little taste of what he could do. 

The moans that left Yifan’s lips were sinful, deep and reverbed beautifully in his ears as he went down on the omega, having managed to get him in the same state with only a tiny squeaking of dumplings but it cutely turned out to be because Yifan had lost the feeling in his left foot and just wanted to be repositioned. Giving the engorged member an extra hard suck, Joonmyeon stilled his movements as Yifan released into his mouth, the poor omega having no clue as to what was about to happen to give him a warning but that did not bother Joonmyeon in the slightest. He greedily swallowed everything that the other had to give and then slowly pulled off just to savor the moment. His dark eyes wandered up the sweat licked body of his mate, complete with the red marks that his teeth and lips had made all away down his chest and stomach and the alpha practically exploded there and then. Yifan looked wrecked, he looked as though he had been made love to fully and wholly and practically glowed with a shimmering light that made him really appear to have been a fallen angel. 

Hooded eyes stared at him, glossed over in pleasure and as Joonmyeon wiped away the excess from his lips, he saw his omega indicate silently to come up to him. Their lips connected, tongues fighting for dominance once again in an all too ready manner and their groans were evenly matched. Yifan was completely spent, thank Ulrich*1, but there was more than enough sense left in the taller man’s head to know that there were two things that he now wanted more than ever. The first required him the ability to speak but the second would allow him to achieve that goal easily enough. 

Finding that he needed to summon not a single ounce of courage as he already had all that he needed, Yifan slipped his hands between their bodies and took hold of Suho’s throbbing length that was practically straining to be unleashed. Joonmyeon gasped and pulled back from the kiss, surprise all over his face but he was clearly more aroused by the sensation, “Yifan?” 

The omega could practically feel himself vibrating because Joonmyeon’s eyes had become wolf like and flecked with yellow, the alpha responding easily to the call of the omega. Yifan felt vulnerable under that gaze, he felt weak and completely at the others mercy because he knew that there was nothing he could do in order to stop the other from doing whatever he wanted to do. But there was a stronger emotion that overrode those feelings and threw them into relief. Yifan felt protected by this alpha, he felt safe in his embrace, he felt as though this was where he belonged and there was a tiny amount of fear that if he didn’t do something about it right this very second then he would lose Joonmyeon forever. Even if there was part of his mind that said it was a stupid notion as Joonmyeon had never once left him or lied to him in the slightest. 

In the omega’s eyes, this alpha above him was his alpha. He belonged only to him and no one else. Yifan wanted to claim the other, which he had actually done but this was a different scenario and one that made him more certain than he had ever been in his life about anything. Other than his three beautiful sons. He wanted to be this alpha’s omega, he wanted Joonmyeon to be exclusively his and for him to exclusively be Joonmyeon’s. A rational part of his mind, that wasn’t overwhelmed by all these bright, almost painful emotions that were filling the omega up right now, knew that there was going to be some form of trouble for what he was about to say but it was squashed by an overdemanding need because every fiber of his mind, body and soul knew that this was right. 

Leaning up a little, so that his lips brushed Joonmyeon’s ear, Yifan whispered, “Claim me, my alpha.” 

The affect was nearly instantaneous. 

A guttural, animalistic growl came out of Joonmyeon’s lips, one that was unlike anything that Yifan had ever heard before but for once he did not run away. In fact he found himself turned on by the noise and wrapped his body as close to the other as he could manage. Their bare cocks touched one another, arousing them further as the natural friction between their bodies grew as instinct took over. They pulled and pushed at one another, gave as much physicality as each one needed and more and their voices joined together in a mixture of words, pants, groans and phases that were just a symphony of sharing the same emotion in the exact same moment. 

Joonmyeon felt his end coming and positioned himself to take one last look at his beautifully innocent omegas face before slamming a passionate kiss onto those lips. “This will be one of the only times I will hurt you, my omega, please forgive me.” 

About to say that he would always forgive Joonmyeon, Yifan instead let out a yell as Joonmyeon’s teeth sunk heavily into the flesh of his neck which quickly turned into a long passionate growl of his own as his second orgasm struck far harder than the first. Joonmyeon followed along after only a couple more shared thrusts and their body fluids mixed together on their flesh. The marking bite took longer to release, as Joonmyeon couldn’t quite believe the sensations that were flowing through his body right at this second and softly he pulled back and apologetically licked at the wound to seal it forever. 

He smiled a little before letting out a yelp of his own when Yifan’s teeth sunk into his flesh in his neck, but he chuckled lightly and gently pet the omega’s hair. He didn’t mention anything about the double marking, knowing that subconsciously it was for Yifan’s benefit to be able to see the same mark on his neck rather than the odd one on his hand that most mistook for something else. Plus he quite liked the idea of the omega fully marking his territory. It made Joonmyeon proud and he smiled at his omega as Yifan slowly rested back on the pillows, before he leaned forward to press a kiss onto his lips. “Thank you.” 

Yifan blinked, exhaustion clearly beginning to take over his mind, “For what?” 

“For letting you be mine,” Joonmyeon replied, kissing Yifan again and carefully pulling back from the other which caused the omega to whine and make grabby hands towards him. Joonmyeon laughed softly, “I’m going to snuggle with you, my little one, but first I need a cloth to clean us up. Not going to be nice snuggling when we’re like this is it.” 

For a second Yifan pouted and then he smiled, catching hold of Joonmyeon’s hand to press a kiss to the back of it, “Don’t be too long.” 

“I won’t be,” Joonmyeon replied, kissing Yifan again purely because he could and then heading down the stairs. Thankfully wolves did not overly care about being naked around one another otherwise it would have been a bit more awkward when he met Luhan on the stairs. What made it awkward was the fact that the other alpha was carrying a couple of hot towels that smelt of lavender, a new set of couple’s pajamas and some other bits and pieces which he handed across with a shit-eating grin clearly on his face.   
“Mama wants you to set an date for your ceremony before you start work,” he said, “Cause we’re pretty sure the whole street just heard you without even trying.” 

Joonmyeon blushed, “Well…mating is supposed to be like that.” 

“Yeah,” Luhan said, “If my little brother wasn’t so madly in love with you I would be kicking your arse right now.” 

Suho grinned, “Well thankfully he is and I love him to the moon and back.” 

“You better do,” Luhan grinned, “Cause you’re my brother in law now and boy are you in for it.” 

Hitting the other on his shoulder as he turned to head back up the stairs, Suho couldn’t help but laugh aloud, “Just you wait until you find your mate, Luhan, I think I’ll be the least of your worries.” 

“Ha, afraid you can’t take me down, pipsqueak?” Luhan challenged playfully back, which pretty much meant that the other had accepted the situation and welcomed it fully cause otherwise he would have attacked by now. 

“You’re little brother loves his big brother just a touch to make him protective too,” Suho called back, smiling brightly as he reached the top of the stairs and headed into his room. He wasn’t in the least bit surprised when he found Yifan fast asleep already, but he kind of wished that he could take a picture cause his baby wolf just looked so perfect right now. He didn’t because that would be rude and also look just a bit on the strange side for him to have, so instead he set about cleaning the omega up and dressing him in the new pajamas and shifting him enough to change the quilt covers. Yifan made several attempts to latch onto him and snuggle up with the alpha which was as cute as it was annoying but Joonmyeon was able to manage and get himself sorted out as well. 

The dirty stuff he took downstairs and threw straight into the washing machine, ignoring the playful jibing that came from Luhan as his mother happened to be close by and hit him on the head with a frying pan to tell him off which made Suho laugh loudly. It felt like mere seconds later he was back in his bed, with his one and only omega snuggled firmly into his chest and if there was one thing that he could honestly say about this moment it was simply that it was completely and totally perfect.   
Together the pair drifted off to sleep, snuggled up together with their new marks and a brand new chapter of their lives laying open for them to explore together.


	9. Chapter 8 - Family

Having finally been allowed out of the quite frankly stifling private room, Tao sighed gently to himself as he hugged onto his large panda plush as he watched the other children from the ward play in the special play room. He found the actions of the younger children to be relaxing, though he was rather glad that he couldn’t hear all of their shrieks and cries because he was sure that he would have gotten a headache by now. But there was also part of him that felt as though he was so distant from these innocent beings now that it made him reluctant to play. He had been told that morning what was wrong with him, why the strange vile smelling heat had happened, and he had been told of the treatments that were available. Not a single thing sounded pleasant in the slightest and most would mean that he would have to take time off school to recover from the various operations. The one option he had completely ruled out however had been to just leave things as they were because there was no way that he was ever going through something as horrible as that again. 

But the other choices, weren’t that good either. 

It turned out that he had had a bacterial infection of his womb, something that had been caused most likely from an accident when he was a child and was never picked up on because it would have been hidden amongst other layers of damaged skin tissue. Because it was never treated, it had basically infected the tissue to the point where it had damaged the internal structure and basically triggered a heat because it had stripped the lining of his womb. It wasn’t cancerous thankfully, but it was pretty much going to remain and if left untreated it could develop into a tumor or something similar. His body, in a natural defense to the womb lining being stripped, had triggered a natural state to increase this function which had caused the horrible heat to strike him and whilst he had a selection of antibiotics to take currently for the pain that was still lingering there wasn’t much else they would do. 

So, he had three options available to him for treatment. The first was to go on a course of antibiotics, along with a selection of specialist pills to help maintain and regulate his body to the natural cycle that had been triggered off by this event, but it would mean that when his heat struck he would be liable to be in considerably pain and it wasn’t a guarantee that an alpha would be even able to get close to him in order to help because of the smell. The second option was to treat it more like a form of cancer and to undergo chemotherapy for it, in the hopes that they could remove the infection but with the area affected being so sensitive it could trigger all sorts and make Tao even more sick. The final option, and the one that the Doctors had said would be the most recommended one for someone of his age, was to have surgery to remove the infected tissue. This all sounded fine until it was revealed that pretty much it would mean removing Tao’s entire womb and ovaries, basically rendering him sterile and unable to bear a child. Ever in his life. 

The positives of course were that he would never have to worry about the heat again, because he would have nothing that would ever trigger a heat and the doctors had advised his mother that he would still be able to find a mate and engage in sexual pleasure but if he wanted to have children in the future then he would be looking at adoption because natural conception would be impossible. The thought was devastating to Tao, even though a tiny part of his mature mind understood that it would be the most safe and secure way for him to be. 

But who would want an omega who couldn’t breed? 

Whilst Tao was not really the romantic type who believed all the fluffy things he saw on the Disney movies and channels, he had always wanted a future where he could find a mate and start a family of his own. It was a natural part of being an omega to want that, even those who rebelled and never had kids would still look after cubs because it was second nature to them. 

However, it was also a fact that Tao did not want to go through that terrible experience again, especially if it meant that his future mate wouldn’t even be able to help him. That would be torture beyond anything. 

He was far too young to be attempting to even make these decisions, he didn’t even have any plans or ideas about what he wanted his future to be yet. Hell, he didn’t even have a cute middle school crush on anyone, not even his seniors from Wushu had caught his eye and practically everyone in his classes would go on and on about it. Tao just didn’t quite know what to do in this situation, he couldn’t even begin to think straight on how it was all supposed to go, and he knew that in a matter of days he would have to make a decision about it. 

Because if he left it too long, there was a chance that he would be thrown back through all that horrible lot once again as an omega first few heats were completely erratic and unpredictable until their hormones settled themselves down. Tears began to pool in Tao’s eyes as he curled up, hugging the large panda bear to his chest and feeling just completely and totally hopeless because he didn’t have a single clue as to where he was supposed to go with this in the slightest. How was he supposed to make a choice on his future when he was still recovering from the shock of what had just happened to him? 

He hiccupped and then nearly jumped out of his skin when two pairs of familiar arms wrapped around him and the bear and suddenly he found himself hoisted up and being carried out of the room. His two little brothers didn’t say a word, Sehun just smiling softly when he glanced up as he was bundled carefully into the slightly taller boy’s arms whilst Kai ran on ahead to open doors for the pair and lead them away from the play room. There were no adults following them, a few nurses glanced by and a doctor told them to be careful, but they knew exactly where to go and what to do in this situation to just make things seem normal and perfectly all right. 

Kai led the pair through a series of doors and then down several flights of stairs because they were quieter though every so often he would turn back to check on Sehun to make sure that his rapidly growing brother was doing fine. Every time he did turn back though, he received a death glare of warning from Sehun that gave the eleven-year-old an expression reminiscent of the Disney Princess Elsa when she was very annoyed and wanted her sister to stop faffing on and just get on with it. Kai thought it was a good comparison but would just grin and continue on his way. He knew that Sehun had the strength and stamina to carry Tao around, they had been doing it between them for as long as anyone could remember, and Tao frequently carried them in return whenever they felt sick or too tired. It was something that the three cubs did without question and would probably keep on doing until they were too old to be able to carry anyone. 

Eventually they reached a door that was unlike all the rest in the hospital as it was mainly formed of glass and had a green metal surround that looked fairly friendly and so different from everywhere else. Kai swapped the carrying duty over with Sehun, so that the black haired boy could hurry to his Umma who was waiting for them at the end of the corridor to retrieve two back packs which he had asked her to bring. He waved brightly at Kyungsoo who was sitting in the car, looking all done up for his dates but there was an air of doom and gloom over the older omega that made Sehun want to rush over to him. In fact, he did and was relieved when his elder brother opened the car door to hug him tightly. 

“Promise me that you’ll make him happy again,” Kyungsoo said slowly, his voice quaking as he tried not to cry, “This is horrible, and I feel so bad for not being there with him.” 

Sehun smiled, “Hyung, you have to look after yourself and Tao will be happy for you! Me and Kai hope that you find a really nice alpha who will look after you forever and ever!” 

“Not going to happen on my first go kid,” Kyungsoo said, a little smile tugging at his lips because god if he could save this innocence forever then he so totally would because it really was just too damn precious not to want to hold onto it. “But that’s anyway. Though…I think this may help with you little plan.” 

Reaching into the back of the car, Kyungsoo pulled out a box which the cubs had seen plenty of times but had never been allowed to touch. It was a simple white box with a picture of a red sailing boat on it that had a little mast that had to be raised and a sail which had been customized by Kyungsoo years ago. It was one of the only toys that Kyungsoo refused to share with his younger brothers, because it was one of his most favourite things in the entire world and even though his parents had given him a good telling off for not being a good brother about it, Kyungsoo had said that the cubs would have to learn that sometimes there were things that they wanted that they just could not have. 

It had taken his parents years to realize that in his childish way Kyungsoo had been teaching the cubs about patience and about accepting that there were some things that were more important in life than getting something that would inevitable only be used a couple of times and then forgotten about. Jinsoo had hugged him fondly and said that his future cubs would be the most well behaved kids on the planet as Tao, Sehun and Kai had learnt not to be greedy with things that they wanted and to seek out the true value in them. It still didn’t stop the twinkle in Sehun’s eyes as he gingerly held the box containing the treasured toy boat in his hands and he quickly handed it to his mother before throwing his arms around Kyungsoo’s neck. 

“Tao is going to love it!” Sehun said, “We’ll make sure that it’s perfectly fine when we return it and me and Kai will have Tao happy again in no time at all. I promise you.” 

Kyungsoo nodded and smiled as the youngster took hold of the boat from his mother and went running back towards the hospital and his brothers. Hyuna kissed Kyungsoo’s forehead after hugging him tightly, “You are at the most wonderful big brother in the world, Kyungsoo, I hope that you know that.” 

“I try,” Kyungsoo said, “Make sure they eat their vegetables and if you need any help…” 

“Sweetie, it’s time you started to do your own growing up,” Hyuna said with a beautiful smile on her face, “You’re always thinking of others and it’s adorable but allow yourself to be treated well with this and who knows, you may find out more about yourself than you ever thought possible.” 

Looking up at his mother, Kyungsoo went to open his mouth to argue but instead found himself being engulfed in a slightly awkward back hug by his father who lightly snuggled into his neck and started to do all those annoying alpha fathers preening things which Kyungsoo simply despised. “Father!” he snapped irritably, trying to push Jinsoo away, “Stop it! I can’t go to this place reeking of some overly protective Dad!” 

“But you’re my sweet Soo,” Jinsoo said, sending a wink towards his wife who tried desperately not to burst into her own giggles at the sight of the pair, “I can’t have you being given away to just any old alpha now can I?” 

“Dad! You’re embarrassing me!” Kyungsoo said as he finally managed to pull away from his father and throw a deadly glare the man’s way. His arms were immediately folded over his chest which made him look like a small angry dog which was just an even funnier image for the parents, but they just about managed to keep their laughter in check. “Besides, it’s not like you can help me with my heat anyway, so let’s get going before I really find an excuse to back out of this.” 

Jinsoo laughed good naturedly and pulled the door closed with a glint in his eyes that screamed that he had managed to claim a victory over his slightly wayward but loveable son. “If you’re sure, Soo?” he prompted though, just to keep up the wounded father act. 

A groaning sob was the man’s reply and he was barely able to contain his laughter as he put the car into reverse and pulled out of the car park without so much more of a complaint. It tool Kyungsoo a few seconds to realize that he had been tricked in such a manner and a tiny whimper left him as he turned back to look out of the window where he could still just see his petite mother standing waving to them, the green of her dress contrasting nicely with the dark brown of her hair. He let out a groan as he turned back to the front, “Why did I ever agree to do this again?” 

“Because even though you’re loath to admit it, Kyungsoo, you’re more than ready for this,” Jinsoo replied, smiling brightly though with just an air of reserved pouting behind it, “I know it’s a big scary step and hell even I have my reservations about all of this but it’s time for you to grow up in ways that me and your mother cannot help you.” 

Kyungsoo sighed, “But I feel bad.” 

“Don’t worry about Tao,” Jinsoo said softly, “He’s going to be fine.” 

Another groan came out of the elder’s mouth, “Dad, you realize that he’s got to make a choice that will change everything for him, right? He either has to stay with these horrible heats and pray that he can find someone who will help them through them or he’s got to have operations that will mean he won’t be able to have his own cubs in the future. He’s barely twelve years old and he’s got to make that horrible decision and here’s me going off to find some alpha to help me through my heat and I’m just…I feel…it’s not fair.” 

For a few seconds Jinsoo was quiet and then he sighed, “Kyungsoo, you may not want to hear this but…maybe this happen to Tao for a reason. Not all omegas are like you and not all alphas are like me. There are those who don’t want to have cubs, who don’t even want to have a mate. I’m not saying that Tao’s got it easy or anything like that, but in one way he’s lucky.” 

“Lucky? To have that happen to him?” Kyungsoo sounded two seconds away from exploding. 

Jinsoo held up his hand towards his son, “Yes, he’s lucky because he was in a place where there were plenty of omegas to look after him and alpha’s who knew how to handle other alpha’s who were going crazy because of that smell. He was also lucky that you were there for him, able to guide him and just hold him when he needed it. Yes, it was a scary event and he’ll be affected by whatever outcome that he choses to go through, but he has a support network round him, one that is strong and that will help him to make the correct choice. Plus, if he chooses to take the surgery and not be able to have cubs of his own, then it’s his choice and we’ll be there for him regardless.” 

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Jinsoo smiled, “Besides, if Tao and his future mate decide that they do want children of their own, there are always cubs out there who need adopting and fostering. Family isn’t just tied by blood Kyungsoo, you know that, don’t you?”   
“Very well,” Kyungsoo said, looking down at his hands and trying not to start immediately picking at his nails. It was true, family wasn’t always about bloodlines and fated mates, sometimes families just came together in an odd sort of chaotic mess and there would never be a day where Kyungsoo never thought of the three cubs as being anything but his little brothers. Even if all of them appeared to be growing far taller than him, he would always be their big brother Soo who made blanket forts with them, tried to keep them tidy and well presented and fought off anyone who tried to bully them. He sighed lightly, “It’s just a scary thing…” 

“I know,” Jinsoo said, “you should ask your mother about it sometime.” 

“Umma?” Kyungsoo asked, a little confused, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. 

“There’s a reason why you don’t have any biological brothers and sisters, Soo,” Jinsoo said softly, trying to hide the emotions out of his voice, “It’s not as extreme as what is happening to Tao or even what happened to Kris all those years ago but it’s something that can happen after the birth of a cub.” 

A part of Kyungsoo’s heart sunk to the ground as he immediately knew what it was that his father was referring to. One of the harsher lessons in the advanced omega classes covered the topic of birth and the possible outcomes and whilst he had suspected for a while that his own mother has suffered from a condition called ‘self-retraction’ where the womb basically shredded itself after the birth of the first child or children, it was a harsh thing to actually hear that she had gone through it. However, Jinsoo smiled, “Though before you start getting all depressed about that, sweetie, just think how strong your mother has been over the last few years and how she’s raised you and her other three sons’ as well as helped out with your multiple cousins and friends. Do you think she’s a bad omega?” 

“No, of course not!” Kyungsoo was horrified at the idea, “Umma is the best ever and she takes care of everyone as if they were her own and…oh.” 

Jinsoo nodded, glad that his son had finally reached the conclusion about his own words. “Like I said before, it’s not going to be an easy road, but Tao will be fine. He has his whole life ahead of him and this set back may be something that plays harshly on him in the future, but it also may just be the making of him as well. Don’t worry about Tao, he’ll find his own way in his life and the world will give him back whatever he gives into it because that is the way that nature works. When you get back from this OD, he’ll be the first to be bugging you with a million questions about it and asking if you’ve found an alpha who can look after you and you know it.” 

Letting a small smile cross his face, Kyungsoo huffed playfully and tried to lean himself back into the soft passenger seat in the hopes that it would distract him from everything for a while. “Knowing my luck, I’ll end up with some goofball who’ll drive me up the wall for all of this.” 

“My pretty little Soo,” Jinsoo said with a smile, “You need someone who will put up with all of your angry little outbursts and delight in them because he’ll know exactly how to make you burst into giggles and act like the cute little omega that you are.” 

“Ha, not going to happen in the slightest,” Kyungsoo said, shaking his head as he looked out of the window, “My alpha is still probably hiding under a rock somewhere and won’t come calling any time soon.” 

“You never know, Soo, sometimes mates surprise you,” Jinsoo said with a knowing grin before taking a turn off the main high street and out towards the motorway which would get them to the designated meeting place which caused Kyungsoo to go quiet as nerves got at him again. He could only hope that he enjoyed this whole strange situation and that he wouldn’t do something to completely mess it all up. 

Back at the hospital, a small gasp of surprise came from Tao’s lips as Sehun proudly but very gently placed the box down next to him and the eldest of the three cubs scrabbled out of Kai’s hold to gently run his hands over the smooth surface. Kai grumbled a little but only because he had got jabbed in the stomach by one of his elder brother’s elbows, but he was quickly smiling when he too saw the box, “Oh my, Kyungsoo really gave you this?” 

Sehun nodded as he moved to start opening the box, “Yup! He said we could play with it and everything!” 

Tao reached out to catch hold of Sehun’s over excited hands and carefully turned the box around towards him, silently reprimanding his younger brothers for being over excited, grabby handed clumsy twits before carefully lifting the lid himself and pulling out all of the separate pieces that made up the mast, sail and body of the boat. He set Sehun the task of unfolding the hand embroidered sail and allowed Kai to help him with attaching it to the mast whilst Tao took the more complicated and fiddly job of attaching the guide strings. It was a very simply mechanism really, where two pieces of fine string where clipped onto a little rudder that could change the direction that the boat was going in or be used to pull it back should it go too far out onto the stretch of water that it was being used on. Tao had no idea how it had come to be on the boat but Kyungsoo had once shown him how to fix the strings when they had both had a cold one time and to pass the time they played with the boat in the bath. 

The only thing with it was getting the string through the little holes to connect it as sometimes it became a little bit fiddley and it required patience to get it just right. However today the strings went through perfectly and Tao had them neatly clipped onto the guidance beams just a few seconds before his brothers were finished with the mast and sail and together they connected it all together before moving very carefully to the waters edge. The pond was quite large, with fresh water and some lovely water lilies on it so it was a perfect little boating lake for the trio. 

Carefully removing his slippers, Tao moved to the edge of the pond to hunker down and set the little wooden boat on top of it before giving it a little push so that it set off out towards the center of the pond. Settling himself down, he took the long spools of string in his hand and let it glide out a bit before pulling on the left hand string to make the boat slide gracefully around the edge of a lily pad with a large flower on top and them gently guided it back right so that it headed back towards the center of the pond. 

Sehun clapped loudly at seeing him do that and smiled brightly, “Yay! Taotao can control the boat!” 

Kai rolled his eyes, “Of course he can, Taotao can do anything because he’s the best!” 

“Indeed!” Sehun said, ignoring the eyeroll that Tao gave the pair because he knew that they meant well but sometimes they came out with the most embarrassing words at times. Though the youngest turned towards the other two and smiled brightly, “Do you think we’ll be allowed to play here all day? It’s nice!” 

Tao shook his head slightly, “No, Sehun, visiting times are limited you know that.” 

The youngster pouted but before he could start whining away, Kai took the opportunity to throw himself into a back hug around Tao and snuggled up close to him, “I already told you Hunnie, we can only visit Taotao for a brief little time today and then we’ll have to come back tomorrow. But we can pick up his homework and bring it in as well as all the cards and sweets that he’ll have cause he’s just so popular even though he’ll never admit it.” 

“He’s not as popular as Donghae oppa,” Sehun replied back playfully, but only because he could literally see the small frustration on Tao’s face as he was reminded about how popular he was. Tao never believed it, always thinking that people just came to him to help with his daily school life because they felt sorry for him because he had a disability that made life a little bit on the tricky side and was probably only going to become more apparent as the years went on. He seemed to blind himself to the adoring glances, the whispered conversations that he could never hear or wish to understand as girls in their classes would ogle him and there was even a small fan club forming as well but Tao just thought that they girls were being cute. It wouldn’t last anyway, he was nothing special in the slightest, so he just let them have their silly fun. 

It didn’t stop the popularity thing being annoying however and both Kai and Sehun knew this so would constantly tease Tao whenever they could. “Well duh,” Kai replied, continuing to back hug Tao, “Donghae oppa is our senior and already has three fan clubs and maturity. By the time Tao’s a senior he’s going to have more.” 

“Is not,” Sehun pouted. 

“Guys,” Tao groaned, shaking his head and trying to twist so that he could see the pond and the boat because Kai was half blocking his view at the moment, “I really don’t want to be as popular as Donghae Hyung and I’ll never be so don’t start squabbling over it please?” 

It was a strange thing that the cubs had, that despite Tao being deaf they could easily communicate with one another without having to do anything specific. Sometimes they would have to be directly facing one another or else using sign language like everyone else did but the trio of cubs found that they could just communicate fine without all of that when they were alone. They could never explain it and Hyuna Umma had said it was like watching a show in a foreign language where it was possible to work out what was happening, but the language made no sense in the slightest. Tao was happy in moments like this, when it was just him and his brothers because even if they were talking about nothing in particular, it almost felt as though his life was normal and there were no problems hampering him. 

Sehun pouted further and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of the other’s eyes, “But Tao is so pretty, he’s bound to have lots of girls and guys after him.” 

“He’s already got that, twerp,” Kai said, sticking his tongue out at Sehun, “He just doesn’t like to admit it cause he’s the cute and shy type when it comes to love and romance.” 

Tao huffed and jabbed Kai in the stomach with his elbow once again, glaring at him, “What sissy nonsense have you been watching with Taemin now to make you talk like that?” 

“Nothing,” Kai replied, though there was a telltale blush on his features which caused Sehun to gasp. 

“He took you to see High Wolf School Musical, didn’t he?” the youngster started to clambered towards the other, “You went without us to see it with your boyfriend!” 

“Sehun!” Tao yelped it half fright, trying to keep his balance as well as a hold on the strings in his hand but managed to completely fail as his youngest brother was determined to grab hold of Kai and pull his hair to demand details. The pair ended up crashing back onto Kai who was duly winded, and Tao found himself being knocked to the concrete floor before a knee accidentally rammed itself into his stomach which sent a jarring pain straight through it. 

A few seconds of confused yelling were interrupted by a cough and a splattering sound which immediately had Kai and Sehun stopping their makeshift fight as they found Tao throwing up a strange brown goop. “Tao!” they both yelled at the same time, scrabbling upright to support their brother and help him back up into a sitting position. For a few minutes everything was a little chaotic and the pair panicked and tried to help at the same time which was never a good combination in the slightest and Tao was too busy throwing up to really say anything to make them stop. 

That was until Umma Hyuna came along, kneeling swiftly next to the gaggle of boys and carefully pulled Tao out of the panicked pair and up into her arms. She moved him quickly over to the side where there was a bin and helped him to finish throwing up whatever was on his stomach whilst instructing the other two to bring the boat in. 

Tao just managed to stop and lean tiredly against his Umma when the other two finished getting the boat back from the pond and had put it back into the box before they rushed over with hundreds of apologies spilling out of their lips. Letting out a frustrated huff, Tao rolled his eyes and shot his hands forwards in order to clamp each one over the mouth of each of his brothers and send then a little glare. “So, noisy,” he complained towards them in the whiniest voice that he could manage right now before letting out a bright smile as he pulled back away from the pair to rest against his Umma again. 

For a few seconds the two younger boys were confused and then they attempted to throw a hug around their eldest brother at the same time. 

Trying to berate the pair for causing yet more troubles, Hyuna eventually gave up when her phone blared into life and she quickly excused herself to go and answer it out of earshot of the boys. Normally she wouldn’t be too fussed about answering a phone call next to them but this particular number which was calling her was one that she thought was best answered away from curious ears. 

Not that Sehun or Kai minded in the slightest, they were able to get far more cuddly with their brother this way and were not at risk of making him throw up once again. 

Smiling slightly to himself, Tao allowed the pair to hug him and just share in the brief few moments of silence that he had been granted because he could already feel the slight tension in the air between the pair. He knew that they were going to ask him, he had known from the second that they had turned up all too bright and happy because they were trying their best to bring up the topic that they had to cover in the most positive way. In a way it was cute and refreshing and made Tao feel extraordinarily privileged to have so much care and attention sent his way by the pair whom he typically looked after more often than not on any given day but there was an overwhelming part of him that was just scared. Scared of admitting everything and also of knowing already what choice he had made. He really was too young, he knew that much but Tao also knew that there were times when it didn’t matter the age of the person they would have to make the choice of doing something for convenience that would only lead to pain and hurt later or making the one that would cause pain and heart break but would hopefully hold some positive and bright future to it. 

He let out a sigh as he felt Kai shift, knowing that he would be the one to ask it first as Sehun tended to get just a little too emotional. Which was funny since most people said that he always appeared to look like he wasn’t the least bit interested in what he was doing most of the time. His elder brothers knew that it was just their maknae’s way of protecting himself from strangers as he was a little on the shy side and took a long time to warm up to people, but no one would ever believe them until they actually saw it for themselves. Still Tao felt as though he should go easy on the pair today, this was a topic of conversation that was going to cover most of their lives and he would fully expect it to always be something that they would ask about even when they were older and had families of their own. Swallowing the slight feeling of bile that was rising in his throat, Tao let out a sad smile, “I’m taking the operation to remove the damaged tissue.” 

Kai stared at Tao with his mouth open, the question he had been about to ask completely dying on his tongue as he stared at his elder brother with a look that couldn’t quite be defined. It was Sehun who spoke first however, “You’re…you’re really going to?” 

A nod was the youngsters reply, “Yeah. I…” lightly Tao shook his head, “I don’t want to go through that again.” 

“But Tao…” Sehun started, tears already in his eyes. 

“No,” Tao said slowly, “No, Sehun. I know what it means and what I may lose but…” 

“It hurt right?” Kai asked ever so slowly, trying his best to keep his words coherent though there was a little hint of tears lingering in them. But Kai didn’t do tears cause they were for sissy boys though lord help anyone who ever made Sehun cry. “It hurt really bad right?” 

Looking at this brother, Tao nodded slowly, “Yes. I know…heats…aren’t pleasant without a…alpha…but I don’t want that again. I don’t want to fear those coming on and I don’t want to go onto suppressants or anything like that just to be normal.” 

Kai gently took hold of his elder brother’s hand, “Tao…the operation will hurt though right?” 

Tao nodded once again, “Yes. It’ll hurt, and I’ll be off school for a bit but after…I’ll be able to live my life normally and do everything without worrying.” 

“But what about your babies?” Sehun asked miserably, “You made a plan and everything. You even had their names picked out and we were going to…” 

A small chuckle came from Tao as he recalled that rainy day last summer where for reasons long forgotten the pair had been left in the house by themselves. They had snuck into Kyungsoo’s room to chance a glance at the omega handbook and had come across a notebook with plans in for the future. At the time they hadn’t quite understood that the book was supposed to be private and that Kyungsoo was merely filling out a wish list, but they had taken it to heart that this was what all omegas did and therefore had copied the book into their own. There they had written baby names, chosen where they would like to have their children, drawn silly pictures in crayon and even found the baby section of a couple of catalogues to cut the pictures out of to stick them in. Kyungsoo had nearly blown a casket when he found out what the pair had done but then found the funny side of it and helped them with the books.

Now they were actually in the right grade and had their own copies of the handbook, the pair had discovered that the lists they had been filling out were in fact meant to be for potential partners and other things related to heat. They had kept the baby books however, preferring them greatly and every so often they would update them and exchange them secretly at night. Kai knew of the books but claimed to not be interested in them as he wanted to have fun before settling down to have a family. Kyungsoo had a running bet with his mother that Kai would be the first one to have children of his own, seeing as he already had his mate Taemin around and it wouldn’t be much longer before the heat cycle kicked in. Though both boys were going to be given a strict lecture on sex and the protection to use, especially during the heat season because there was no way that Kai was going to be a teenage mother. 

Gently Tao reached out to pet Sehun’s ears, smiling sadly towards the youngster, “I know. I’ll still have that and…Sehun life changes. It throws you curve balls when you least expect it and I don’t…I’m not going to end up like Mama.” 

There was a stunned silence after that comment before as one, the two boys raised their heads up towards Tao together. Sehun blinked first, “Like Mama?” 

Tao nodded, “Yeah.” 

“W…. what do you mean?” Kai asked, confusion clearly in his voice. 

Gulping down the fear in his heart, Tao thought for a second about how best to word what he wanted to say, “Remember when we found out what happened to Mama? What he went through and how he was terrified of us because he always thought that he would just push us away?” 

A joint confirmation nod was his answer, Kai and Sehun had always agreed to stay completely silent on the matter after they had read that letter which possibly hadn’t been meant for them but had ended up in their paws all the same. Tao smiled, “Mama’s been going through a lot of hardships over the years, he’s had a lot of problems and a lot of fears because of what happened to him and he’s been sick in his heart and in his mind. He couldn’t even be an omega because he was just so scared of everything and he’s still scared now because he feels guilty of what happened to me, as if it were all his fault and it’s not.” 

He paused momentarily to wet his lips, “Mama is getting better now though, but he’s lost a lot of time and a lot of moments that he regrets so much because he was so hurt by that bad man. I don’t want that…I don’t want to fear an alpha hurting me, impregnating me because I’ve got something wrong with me and I don’t want to pass that on to any of my future cubs. I want to travel, and I want to experience so much…and the only way that I can do that is to have the operation. Yes, I may lose the potential to have a family of my own when I’m older but…that’s something for older me to worry about. I want Umma and Appa to not have so much fear that I’m going to be okay and I want Mama to forgive himself because he didn’t cause this. So, I’m going to take the doctors advice and have the operation because that way, once it’s over, it’s over and I’ll be okay. That’ll make me happy because then everyone will be happy, and I can work out life in my own time.” 

Kai sighed, rubbing at his eyes because he wasn’t crying, “But…Tao…how…” 

“However, there is something that I need you two to do,” Tao said, catching both of his brothers chins and making them look up at him even though there were tears in their eyes, “I want you two to take a test to make sure that you don’t have this. That the bacteria that has caused this horrible thing in me isn’t in you two. I don’t want either of you to go through this…it’s horrible and will break the pair of you because…” once again he paused and tried to think how best to explain what he wanted to say, “when you get your first heats, they’ll be wonderful, and they’ll set you on the paths that you are bound to become.” 

“But Tao!” Kai started once again only to be interrupted. 

“No, Jongin, no,” Tao said softly, “You have Taemin and even though it’s a big scary thing to say, you’ll be fine throughout it because you already have a mate who will protect and love you. Sehun, you’ll find someone too, I just know it. But that’s why I want you both to be tested and then…then we can plan for everything and have fun.” 

Sehun sniffled loudly, “But what about you?” 

Tao shook his head, “I’ll sort out my life once I’m done with all of this. It’ll be fine, I promise.” 

For a few seconds there was only silence between the three cubs and then Sehun broke down into a loud, wailing sob before he threw himself boldly at Tao and wrapped his arms tightly around the youngster’s neck, “Wah! Why do you have to be so selfless and caring! It’s not fair Zitao! You have everything bad happen to you and still you would rather make other people happy than yourself!” 

Sitting there in shock, Tao did not know what to do for a few seconds until a chuckle came from his left hand side and Kai wrapped his arms and legs around the pair and pulled them close. There were tears leaking from the youngster’s eyes and he was sniffing badly but he still managed to smile towards a confused elder brother, “What he means is that you’re the best big brother in the world that we could ask for and we totally owe you everything Tao.” Lightly he pressed a kiss to the top of his head and snuggled the pair close, “You always think of others before yourself but this time you’ve really taken everything to the next level.” 

Tao blinked his own tears away and cuddled Sehun just a little tighter whilst snuggling himself into Kai’s chest, “I’m actually being really selfish Jongin. I’m choosing to save my own skin in favour of not having cubs or even a mate in the future whilst making sure my two younger brothers get everything that they want and more.” 

Jongin chuckled, “No, Tao, you’re being so selfless. You’ll get a mate in the future and they’ll be the best mate in the entire world and if they’re not then I’m going to kick their tail and then let Sehun attack them outright too. Cause you know that’s a fate worse than death.” 

A chuckle was the reply as Tao nodded his head, knowing fine well that Sehun’s protective streak was something to be reckoned with and whilst many would never have believed it, it was something that marked him as being a truly great mother in the future. As soft as a kitten but as angry as a bear. Part of him knew fine well that Sehun and Kai did not yet understand his words, that they were still innocent in the terms of grown up life because heck he was still rather in that same boat but having gone through the terrible infection induced heat, Tao now understood what the books had been banging on about and found that he had matured in ways that he couldn’t quite comprehend at the moment. He just hoped that when his two brothers got tested that they did not have this infection because he did not want to come back into hospital to help them deal with it. 

Sehun suddenly shifted and rubbed at his eyes, “Why do you smell like Christmas?” he lisped slightly as he tended to do when he was really upset over something. 

Tao blinked and looked down at Sehun, before jumping when Kai started sniffing at his neck which was the easiest point that he could start sniffing at. For a few seconds he was silent and then he pulled back, “You do smell like Christmas, actually, but it’s more like how you smell when Umma has been looking after you for a long time and…” the words clicked together in Kai’s brain as he recalled the same sort of smell when the male omega had calmed him down the night he was freaking out, though he hadn’t matched it exactly with the seasonal festival at that precise moment in time of course, and he looked directly towards Tao. “Wait…you said all that stuff about Mama but…” 

“He’s been here,” Tao said honestly, smiling a little, “He’s been helping me through everything.” 

“Really?” Kai asked blinking, “What’s he like?” 

“Does he have a deep voice and funny hair like Uncle Luhan says?” Sehun asked, his eyes wide with intrigue. 

A deadpan look was sent the youngsters way because there was a very clear reason as to why Tao wouldn’t be able to answer the first part of that question. Whilst he could communicate and ‘hear’ his brothers as if it were the most perfectly natural thing in the entire world, the rest of the voices were next to none existent even when he had the hearing aids in. It was one of the reasons why he never really bothered with them in the slightest though he tried his best to keep them going for the sake of his Umma. 

Kai however gently clipped Sehun around the ear, “He’s been hauled up sick for the past few days, he won’t have noticed anything like that. Plus, Uncle Luhan says silly things all the time so Mama probably doesn’t have those sorts of things.” 

Sehun blinked and then pouted, “But he would have seen Mama, right?” 

Tao shook his head, “It hurt so much I couldn’t even open my eyes. But Mama has been here, Umma told me and I’ve…how best to put it.” For another few seconds he was quiet again, mulling over everything that he was about to say towards his two younger brothers because it was surely the type of thing that would quite literally blow their minds. “I…not so much heard but was able to think his thoughts? Sorta they came through the bond and I was able to get a lot of what he was saying even though I couldn’t hear him or communicate to him overly much.” 

The pair shared a look between them and then looked back towards Tao, “Do you think…we could get onto that bond?” Sehun asked shyly, nervously biting at his lip. 

A positive nod was his reply, “Yeah, I think so. He may have opened it without realizing and since we’ve all been just a little caught up…” 

“Can we try?” Sehun asked, “Like…right now?” 

“Erm…I don’t think…” Tao started slowly. 

“Please? You two have felt it before and I want to feel it cause I’m always left out.” Sehun whined cutely towards the pair. 

Kai opened his mouth to tell Sehun to stop it when he suddenly remembered that he to had felt the bond, back on the same night and how he had just been able to briefly touch back at him. He gently licked his lips before considering a response, “We should ask Umma first, we don’t want to upset her.” 

“Umma?” Sehun blinked and then turned to look at Hyuna who was still talking on the phone, “Umma is the best in the world! She wouldn’t mind…” 

“It’s still polite to ask first though,” Kai said softly, “Why don’t you go and do it? I’ll stay here and be Tao’s snuggle pillow.” 

There was a three second pause as Sehun considered this before he untangled himself from his two brothers and rushed over to his mother to ask her the question. Kai silently shook his head, “He’s still so innocent, ain’t he?” 

“Always going to be,” Tao replied, smiling fondly at the pair, “But that’s why he’s our little brother.” 

“Can I go and kick Donghae’s tail now?” Kai asked in a low voice, not wanting Sehun to overhear that comment. The pair were aware of Sehun’s little crush, hell half of the school were aware of it and it was pretty certain that even Donghae himself knew of it but instead of just letting Sehun gently down, he seemed to enjoy playing with the other’s fragile feelings which had started to get ever so slightly on Kai’s nerves of late. He had only confided this information into Tao, knowing that he’d be far more able to take Donghae on and it was undeniably cute and squidgy for a number of different reasons. 

Tao shook his head in response, trying his best not to giggle, “No you can’t because as I’ve told you a thousand times, Donghae is not playing with Sehun’s feelings. Sehun is reading everything wrong because unlike you he’s still only got High School Wolf to go off and it’s confusing him. Donghae-hyung is just oblivious to the feelings.” 

“How can you say that?” Kai pouted. “Sehun’s going to get his heart broken.” 

“Half of the school is going to get their hearts broken when Hyukjae comes back,” Tao rolled his eyes, “He’s Donghae’s mate. Everyone knows that, and nothing will have changed between the two.” 

Kai looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow, “Are you sure about that?” 

“One hundred per cent sure,” Tao grinned back, “We’re best just leaving Sehun to this little crush and once it passes he’ll be fine.” 

Kai nodded and then sighed again, snuggling back into Tao, “I just worry for him sometimes.” 

“We’ll never stop worrying about one another,” Tao replied softly, grinning brightly up at his brother, “We’re family and nothing will ever change that fact.”

A smile bloomed on Kai’s face as he once again snuggled back down into Tao’s arms and held on tightly, he knew that the other had a world of experiences that were still unknown to Kai and Sehun now and that he would be seeing things in a different light after all that had happened. He could only hope that it would indeed be for the best and that in a few years’ time they could all gather together and laugh at how silly they had been as cubs. It would be nice indeed and he was sure that it would give them all good memories together. 

Sehun thankfully wasn’t paying any attention to the grown-up conversation that his big brothers were having, instead he was gently tugging on his mother’s skirt in order to get her attention. Hyuna smiled softly down at him, her hand reaching to gently pet his head before she said into the phone, “One second, one of the boys wants me.” Pausing to hear the reply, Hyuna placed the phone on her chest as if to cover the sound before looking down at her son, “Yes Sehun?” 

The little boy who was rapidly growing blinked as he looked up at her, “Umma…” 

“Yes?” Hyuna asked softly, already half guessing what was about to be asked because even though she had been on the phone she had still been able to just hear what the cubs were saying. 

Sehun gently gulped, “We want to try something, but I want to ask you first cause you’re our Umma and we love you loads and I don’t want you to think that we don’t or that we’re going to run away or something because that would be bad, and I don’t want to make Umma cry cause that’s not what good boys do and…” 

“Breathe, Sehun, it’s okay,” Hyuna said, trying to hide her smile because by all the gods above she did have three of the most beautiful little boys on the planet whom she could gladly call her home, “No matter what you ask of me, I would never even dream of thinking that you and your brothers were wanting to run away from me.” 

A blink was her answer before Sehun summoned up enough courage to quietly ask, “Even if we wanted to try and touch the bond to our birth mother?” 

Hyuna smiled brightly in response, “Not even that. In fact, Sehun, my little Yehet, I’ve been waiting a long time for you and your brothers to ask that very question.” 

“Doesn’t it make you sad?” Sehun asked, his eyes wide, “It’d make me sad.” 

Chuckling lightly, Hyuna shook her head, “You’re a bit too young to understand how different our situation is to most of what you’ve heard about Sehun, but one day you’ll understand. However, when you three became my sons, I made a promise to your Mama that I would look after you all, make sure that you were safe and grew up with good natures and the most wonderful hearts because that’s what he needed to know and hear at that moment in time. He was too young to be a mother, far too young and too caught up in everything that had happened, but I knew that one day he would come back. A mother always knows their children, even if they were once scared of them and once they’ve healed the old wounds they’ll always come back to see that their cubs turned out good. I promised your Mama that when he was ready, he could come back to see you in any way that he chose to do so because the time would be right for him. At the time he thought that he would never see you three, that he would never heal but he has done and I’m sure that if you seek for him, you’ll find him easily enough.” 

Sehun latched his hand onto Hyuna’s and blinked slowly up at her, “But what about you?” 

“I’m still your Umma, you three will still be under my protection,” Hyuna smiled softly, “Until you’re sixteen you’ll be with me but after that you’ll be able to choose where you go and who you stay with or if you want to move out and do your own thing. But by that time, the world will be a very different place and you’ll have changed so much but I know that both me and your Mama will still love you all the same and as long as we never forget that love, everything will be all right.” 

For a moment there was a pause and then Sehun moved to wrap his arms around Hyuna’s neck and place a kiss on her cheek, “I love you umma, for now and forever.” 

“And I love you Sehun,” Hyuna replied with a smile, kissing the top of his head and pulling back with a smile, “Now go back to your brothers and try to contact your Mama. I’m sure he’ll be ready this time.” 

Nodding largely twice, Sehun smiled brightly before turning and rushing back to his brothers and Hyuna dabbed lightly at her eyes before putting the phone back to her ear, “Sorry about that, Sehun just came to ask me something.” 

“Is he, all right?” Suho asked gently, the indicator sound appearing over the phone as well. 

Hyuna nodded, “Yeah, he just wanted to check that it was okay to…you better warn Kris that he’s about to…” 

There came a startled sound from the opposite side of the car, and for a few seconds there was panic but Hyuna instead turned her eyes towards the boys who seemed to just be as shocked and surprised though they weren’t vocalizing it. “Yeah, the cubs were going to test the bound, but I think it may be a bit more open than we thought.” 

“I’ll say,” Suho said, having been quietly comforting Kris, “We’re in the car park now, just give us a few moments and we’ll be up there, Aunty.” 

“Yeah, see you shortly,” Hyuna replied and clicked off the call. 

Making sure the engine was off and the parking break on, Suho turned to Yifan and gently reached out a hand to steady his partner, “Are you okay?” 

Yifan nodded, breathing a little deeper than he meant to be but unable to stop the smile that was drawing itself across his lips, “Yes. They…they just surprised me…was all.” 

“I told you, didn’t I?” Suho said, leaning across to press a reassuring kiss onto Yifan’s temple, “Are you sure that you can go through with this though?” 

For a few seconds the omega was quiet but then he nodded, “I can’t leave them…not now. They’re still there, prodding curiously and it’s so cute and it tickles.” A series of giggles were escaping Yifan, who despite shaking like a leaf with fear of rejection still pumping through his system, was actively engaging in the bond. Suho could feel dully the little pushes that were coming across too, the giddiness in his mate’s words were more than enough to prove that and he smiled brightly at the tall omega.

“Come on then,” he said, preparing to open the door, “Let’s go and get them, shall we?” 

Nodding in response, Yifan stepped out of the car and immediately felt Suho by his side, protecting him from everything even though there was nothing to protect him from bar his own built in brand of left over fear and resentment for the events that had happened well over a decade ago. However now, Yifan knew that he could push those thoughts away because he was with his mate and Suho would never willingly allow anything or anyone to hurt him ever again and that would be what finally broke all of the troubles that he had gone through. 

It felt like mere seconds before they were at the door of the small garden where Hyuna and the cubs were and Hyuna opened the door with a bright smile before throwing her arms tightly around him. “Go on in,” she smiled brightly, “They’re waiting for you.” 

A fear shot through Yifan as he stared at the open doorway, able to fully feel the presence of the cubs as well as their confusion and wonder at what was about to happen. He glanced towards Joonmyeon who gave him a nod and a quick kiss before giving him just a little bit of a push. “Go on, you can do this Yifan. I believe in you.” 

Gulping once again, Yifan nodded and turned to the doorway, before taking the most difficult step forward that he had ever taken in his life. For a second everything appeared to be too bright, the sun shining down on the pond and the small collection of fauna hurt his eyes but the next second the omega was kneeling on the ground just in time to catch hold of a small body which practically flung itself into his embrace without so much as a momentary pause. Yifan wrapped his arms tightly around the small boy, drinking in the scent of chocolate and cream cookies that could only belong to Sehun. The little cub was already wailing with a mixture of emotions and without really paying much attention to what he was doing or even why, Yifan scooped him up and moved to the bench where the other two. He was overwhelmed by the scents of green tea and strawberries for just a second before he managed to find a way to engulf the pair into his arms as well.   
There were tears, cries, a mixture of voices that were nearly impossible to identify from one another but for once Yifan did not care. All he felt was love, love for his cubs who had grown up to be more than he could have possibly ever imagined, and he felt their heart beats and for the first time in a long while Yifan knew that he was complete. 

He raised his head up to the other two adults in the space, barely aware that he was sobbing his heart out before reaching his fingers out to them as a sign to join in the group hug. Hyuna moved across first, sitting on the opposite side of the cubs to where Yifan was and wrapping herself around them, tears falling down her face in gratitude and wonder at being allowed to share in this moment whilst Joonmyeon slipped in beside Yifan and wrapped his arms around as many as he could. They all cried and shared in the feeling that they were all finally where they were supposed to be. This was their family bond, one that they created, and it would forever remain a part of who they were.


	10. Chapter 9 - Gaining Trust through Changes

It was still only mid afternoon, but exhaustion had clearly claimed the cubs and Yifan after their huge emotional outburst from earlier on. They were all now curled up on Tao’s bed, much to the pretend annoyance of the nurses who were checking up every so often though it was impossible to hide their own joy at seeing the group all so close together in a cute little dog pile, and Suho was debating if he should take a few more sneaky pictures of them or not. 

Hyuna chuckled, “Take as many as you want, he’ll want proof that this is all really happening. Plus, you can use them for completely embarrassing photos on their eighteenth birthday.” 

Joonmyeon shook his head, “I wouldn’t dare to use them like that, Yifan would kill me.” He smiled however and did indeed take a handful more pictures on his phone before realizing that it may be a good idea that he stop seeing as his battery was starting to get down below ten per cent left right now. Putting the phone away, he smiled and looked towards his mate who really did for the first time look as though he was completely at rest with himself. 

Yifan was lying on his side, just slightly off center from the bed with Tao curled up tightly against his chest, his little nose buried safely in the crook of his mother’s neck with his left hand clutching tightly at his shirt almost as if he were afraid that he would take up to find that Yifan was no longer there. In the past it would have been perfectly reasonable to expect that something like that would happen but Joonmyeon knew that his tall, perfect little omega would never leave his cubs again. Well at least not in the way that Tao possibly feared as they would still primarily live with their adopted parents but Joonmyeon already knew that the trio would be regulars at their house once they got that all up and sorted. 

Sehun was lying half on top of Tao, his left arm snuggling around Yifan’s waist with his head half buried in his mother’s chest and his legs sticking out towards the edge of the bed where they weren’t going to get tangled up with anyone too much. Yifan’s large hand was resting on Sehun’s stomach to keep the cub safe and secure and most of all as comfortable as possible. Sehun was still occasionally hiccupping but as the youngest of the trio, he was a bit more prone to being the crybaby though his two elder brothers only teased him lightly about it. Heaven forbid if anyone did ever actually make the maknae cry for real or upset him, his elder brothers would be down on the culprit in next to no time to smash the ever living daylights out of whoever regardless of who or what they were. 

Jongin was proving himself to be the different one as per usual, by curling up against his mothers back, arms wrapped just gently around Yifan’s neck whilst his head was lolling cutely on top of his mothers. Every so often he would shift, snuggling closer or else reaching out to just lightly pet Tao and Sehun’s heads, which according to Hyuna was something that he did whenever the trio slept together. It was some kind of reassurance trick that the youngster had picked up and it was adorable. 

Joonmyeon sighed once again happily and glanced at his Aunt, “Are you okay, Aunty?” 

“Who? Me?” Hyuna shook her head, “I’m more than fine. Don’t you go worrying about me. I’ve got enough in my own mate and son at the moment, thank you.”   
“I know that but…this is going to be a big change and I mean…” Joonmyeon started but was stopped in his words by Hyuna raising her hand towards him. 

“Joonie, I really apricate the words and the feeling behind them, I honestly do, but believe me when I tell you that I’m perfectly fine,” Hyuna said softly, smiling brightly towards her nephew. “The day I took these three wonderful little boys into my arms, I knew that they were my sons and regardless of what happens they will always be my sons. But I have always said and stuck by the principle that their mother is alive and would eventually reach the point where he would want to come back into their lives. Granted I did not expect it to be quite in this way and I thought that it wouldn’t be until the cubs were much older, but I have never been selfish with them. You ask your mother-in-law about the times I’ve tried to arrange for Yifan to see the cubs, all the invites and events that I’ve kept him in the loop about. I’ve never kept Yifan in the dark or refused him anything that he’s asked for because I knew that he would come around to it.” 

She paused for a fraction of a second, “What happened to him was wrong. It was horrifying and no omega on the planet should have to go through that. Especially not one as young as he was. I knew it would be something that scared him, something that would mar his actions and his mindset for years because that is was a terrible thing that happened, but I knew that like all omegas, he would still care for his cubs. Even his actions when he was merely a child were that of a grown omega. He couldn’t provide milk for them, so he asked for them to be taken off his body and fed by someone who could. He wanted them taken away because he could not look after him, but he didn’t want to lose them, so he tried to fight for them. I’ve seen omegas reject their cubs a few times, it’s horrible to witness and the effects on the cubs is truly terrifying to behold. But even when he was eight years old, terrified out of his mind and knew nothing of his responsibilities, Yifan put his cubs first and tried to get them to safety. Away from him, away from the boy who could not give those most precious little lives everything that they needed at that time because his body wasn’t ready.” 

Hyuna wiped at her own eyes, “Yifan was a mother too soon, far too soon, but now…he’ll be there for his cubs though he will not fight me for them because he still thinks that I’m the best thing for them. Maybe for these three I am, because I have raised them and done all the things that he could not…but he won’t leave them to me. He’ll help when he can now, he’ll fill the hole’s in his heart, in theirs, in mine and in yours because we all have them from what was done to him. But once he’s healed, you’ll have a family of your own Joonmyeon. You’ll have your own cubs with Yifan and they’ll be beautiful and wonderful, and they’ll have the best big brothers in the world who won’t care in the slightest that they’re way older than their siblings.” 

Joonmyeon wiped away the tears that were in his eyes before moving across to hug his aunt, “I hope that you’re right Aunty.” 

“Believe me when I say this,” Hyuna said softly, “Omega’s always know what is right when it comes to cubs and I can’t wait to share my nieces and nephews with you two. It will be wonderful.” 

For the first time that he could remember, Joonmyeon broke down into his own set of tears. Whether it be from the words of his aunt, reassuring everything that he had always known or felt or maybe just finally realizing that it was fine for him to get emotional about this situation as well, he did not know but he was very thankful that he could release all that had been held up in his heart since reuniting with Yifan. He couldn’t’ begin to think how terrible it had been for his omega all those years spent alone, even if he was constantly receiving warm and reassuring letters from Joonmyeon every single day, and all the mental trauma he must have gone through knowing that his cubs were just on the other side of town. It was a terrible thing to imagine and not once had Joonmyeon ever really asked about it. 

There again, Yifan seemed to be more relaxed around him, more willing to talk, to express and attempt to understand and he realized that maybe that was another factor in their road together. Whilst he had not been the full driving force behind Yifan’s decision to see his cubs again, as he had been passively accepting photos and videos of the cubs two years prior to his return as well as sending them letters and small gifts – which reminded him of the collection of dragon pens he had yet to give the cubs actually now – which meant that the omega had been finally ready to deal with everything that had happened. Joonmyeon’s arrival had been the final puzzle piece which allowed this moment to happen and now that they were mated as wolves, he knew that they would continue to grow stronger with each passing day. 

He was half terrified of the idea of having a family of his own, mainly because he really did not have much experience of cubs except for playing with his nephew come sons but he was sure that Yifan would teach him everything that he needed to know and once they had a family of their own then they would more than manage. A smile crossed his face, despite the fact that he was still crying bucket loads, as he tried to imagine that little scene. Of their first little child and ironically his first thought was of the Hello Kitty café and the room which had made Yifan freak out. In his head, the alpha imagined climbing the stairs with Yifan, carrying their lovely little girl in his arms proudly and taking her inside the place that had inspired her bedroom and practically everything that they had for her. How she would be enthralled and asking for drinks and sweets and then getting confused because her room would look almost identical to the one set upstairs and the cute explanations and photographs and the playful teasing that he would give to Yifan because all of those lovely moments would all come back to them. 

Yes, there would be still a lingering darkness, there would be thoughts of times that would make them unhappy or sad, but their little bundle of joy would remind them that there was always something good to aim for in life. That through the trials of every darkness there was light, and they had one another to drag them through it and out the other side. 

Joonmyeon jumped when he felt a second set of arms wrap around him and tug him lightly towards the bed, a soft pair of lips landing themselves carefully on his own in a small, sweet, chase kiss before a deep voice gently said, “Come here, Baba, you’re making the cubs restless.” 

Not even pausing for a fraction of a second to ask his omega how that was even possible, the alpha soon found himself lying on the opposite side of the bed with Yifan smiling sleepily at him and the three cubs sprawled out in between them. He reached across to take hold of Yifan’s hand, squeezing it tightly before allowing his eyes to just drift into what he told himself would be a light slumber for a few moments before he was passed out long with the rest of his family. 

Hyuna smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she snapped yet more cute pictures and sent them to everyone that she could. This little family was set, and she was proud to be part of it’s creation. 

~*~

Three months later saw the day when Tao would finally be discharged from hospital and allowed to return home after his operation. Normally it would have not taken as long but the little cub’s body had gone into shock after the operation and for a week he had been in a medically induced coma just to make sure that everything was going to be perfectly all right. Afterwards the doctors had insisted on keeping him in for tests and monitoring and just when he thought he could finally go home, he had caught chicken pox. How he had caught it virtually no one could say but until the point where the doctors were happy that it wasn’t going to develop into something far worse and that he was fully clear of it, Tao wasn’t allowed to go home. 

He had pouted and wailed so badly when he had first caught chicken pox and made such an uncharacteristic fuss that he had very nearly been scolded until Sehun had pointed out that Tao just wanted to come home. To sleep in his own bed, play with his own toys and just get back to living normally. The fact that he had been crying too when he had said this had broke all the adult’s hearts and they had tried their best to help Tao through it. It hadn’t worked for a few days because Tao was being a little brat and refusing to eat his meals or even take his medication properly but then his Wushu instructor visited with some of the elder students who were not going to catch chicken pox as they had already had it as cubs themselves and things settled down. 

Though Yifan had a frown on his face as he watched Tao with his friends as he came in late to visiting one day without Suho because he had been seeing the other off to work. Hyuna raised her head at him and smiled before chuckling at the expression on the others face, “What’s up with you? They’re just his friends.” 

Yifan smiled shyly as he shook his head to dispel the stupor, “Oh I know that…don’t worry I wasn’t getting all protective or anything but…” for a moment he paused, running his tongue over his teeth which was a habit that he had from childhood whenever he needed to think, “I just noticed that one of the alpha boys seems to take extra special of Tao.” 

Hyuna turned back to the group and was easily able to pick out the alpha in question, as he was in the process of helping Tao to drink out of a juice cup and she giggled lightly, “Oh Taehyung? Yeah, he’s so good with all omegas and youngsters. He always looks after everyone, even other alpha’s when they get hurt.” 

Turning to look at the woman, Yifan raised his thick eyebrows towards her, “You’ve never noticed?” 

“Noticed what?” Hyuna asked, “Taehyung is a sweet boy and you don’t have to worry about him in the slightest.” 

Letting out a little groan, Yifan dropped his head so he could whisper into her ear, “I think we’re looking at our future son-in-law.” 

“What?” Hyuna nearly shouted back before turning back to look at Taehyung and actually taking note of everything that the young alpha was doing. He was indeed helping Tao to take a drink but at the same time, his free hand was gently running up and down his side in a soft manner that wasn’t meant to tickle. It was something that Hyuna instinctively knew was something that was calming to Tao as he always liked the sensation of being stroked. Taehyung’s eyes were warm and friendly and when Tao pulled back from finishing, he immediately signed to see if the other wanted anything. He didn’t try to talk at Tao, even though he knew that he could lipread perfectly fine but there was a droop to the youngster’s eyes that suggested he was getting sleepy too. For a few seconds Hyuna was going to argue that this was just normal Taehyung behavior but when he helped the younger boy to snuggle into his blankets and then leant down so that he could sing him a lullaby, Hyuna’s jaw dropped to the floor. 

Trying not to laugh out loud, Yifan reached across and gently closed it, “How did you not see before?” 

“But he’s like this with everyone, he takes care of everyone and just…oh my god,” Hyuna tried not to squeal, “I never would have even thought.” 

Yifan did now chuckle at her and stepped back to avoid being playfully hit, “He seems like a good boy at least.” 

“Oh, he is,” Hyuna said without question, “Kyungsoo is going to be so annoyed when he finds out.” 

“Let’s keep it form him for now, the last thing we need is for your son to go and try to punch Taehyung on the nose or something,” Yifan said, shaking his head, “I swear, he’s more protective of his brothers than the pair of us together.” 

Hyuna nodded, “It’s in his nature. Though I think Taehyun may be going away for a bit soon, so he could just be being a little over affectionate to lessen the…hell, he is my future son-in-law.” 

The pair giggled together once again but were thankfully not questioned by the wushu team who left because Tao had indeed fallen asleep. Taehyun did pause though, just in the doorway to look back before blushing when he spotted the look that the two adult omegas were sending him and quickly hurried off. 

That had been around two weeks ago, and Tao had next to no thoughts in his head other than actually going home and being able to sleep in his own bed. He had packed up everything that he had, was dressed and had even tidied up some of his mess of sweet papers and the likes because everyone had been soon kind to him. He was anxiously waiting for his mother to ring, having agreed to put his hearing aids in so that he could hear it. His body was still a little sore and he had a lot of healing to do but with the summer break coming up things were not too bad. There had been a debate of if he should be kept back a year or not, though since his brothers had been bringing him in all of their notes and homework and helping him, it was agreed that he could move up to the next year group without any problems. 

A bright tune played from his phone and he snatched at it, happy to see the message from Hyuna that they were ready to pick him up and Tao replied back before clambering down off the bed. Tao had asked not to be present when it came to signing the release papers because he wanted to start standing on his own two feet again and be able to do things for himself. Plus signing paperwork was boring and he’d rather be away from it. He said goodbye to all of the nurses and doctors on duty, giving them hugs and little gift boxes of sweets as a way of saying thank you and was quick to head down the stairs rather than take the lift. 

He ran to Hyuna the second that he saw her and wrapped his arms tightly around her middle. His mother smiled brightly and returned the hug, pressing hundreds of kisses to his head and face but he did not fuss in the slightest and only whined to be picked up and carried out. “Oh, such a little drama queen,” Hyuna muttered playfully as she picked Tao up and started to head towards the car, “But I suppose it’s allowed today.” 

“Where’s Sehun and Jongin?” Tao asked once he was seated in the car and realized that all of the passenger seats were empty which was a little unusual as he brothers hated getting to miss out on any visiting time in the slightest. 

Hyuna grinned, “It’s the school sports day today, Tao, and they’re both in the team events so they couldn’t miss it. Don’t worry, they’ll be at home before us, so you can tackle hug them then.” 

Tao nodded and stared out of the window as Hyuna reversed out of the car park and the hospital began to get smaller, “Umma? Will Mama and Baba be there too?” 

“More than likely,” Hyuna said, trying not to let her resolve break as she thought of just what was waiting for the youngster when he got home, “In fact I’m sure there’s going to be a fair few people who will want to see you now that your home.” 

Blinking up at her, Tao smiled knowingly as even though she hadn’t really said anything he knew what she was implying, and, in a way, it made him just giddy thinking about it. Though he paused for a fraction of a second in thought and then looked up at her again, “Umma?” 

“Yes Tao?” Hyuna asked with the patience that only a mother could have even though right now she would have given Tao anything that he wanted. 

“Can we stop at the Bubble tea shop and get some and some ice cream?” Tao asked politely but with just a hopeful tone in his voice which was impossible to resist. 

“Was already heading there sweetie,” Hyuna said with a sigh, knowing that her plan was already busted but that would be perfectly all right by everyone. 

~*~

A wooden spoon whapped smartly across the knuckles of the large alpha who was trying to arrange the candied fruits into little paper bowls, “How many times do I have to tell you, keep them colour coordinated!” Kyungsoo seethed towards the alpha, daring him to try and defy him in this matter but the alpha just cheekily grinned towards him and instead put one of the sweets into his mouth. 

“I have done, these are the back ups in case we run out and seriously no one is going to care, my little Soo, they’re perfectly yummy the way they are,” the alpha chided back carefully. 

“But why not keep them the same?” Kyungsoo shot back before glancing at the creations and realizing why his alpha was doing what he was doing. The mixed up candy fruits did actually look really good together and far more appealing to young eyes than the regimented colour sets that he had previously had done and he sighed, “Damn it! Stop being right!” 

A big infectious chuckle came his way and Kyungsoo found himself being wrapped up in a great big hug by the alpha whom had only meant to be his OD partner but by sheer fluke had turned out to be his mate. He wanted to berate the other, hit him again with his wooden spoon or just do anything that would get him out of this situation because like this he really got to apricate his mate’s up close and personal details. Like the curve of his eyebrows, the largeness of his ears, the little peak on the tip of his nose and those oh so kissable lips that were just demanding attention right now. Kyungsoo almost leaned in but stopped himself, “We’re not going to be ready at this rate.” 

“Soo, you’re more than ready,” the alpha grinned brightly, “In fact I think you’ve made enough to feed five schools let alone just family, friends and classmates. Will you relax for a moment?” 

“But I want everything to be perfect,” Kyungsoo complained, “He’s been stuck in there three months and…” the pair of lips he wanted to kiss so badly landed on his, effectively shutting him up for a long moment and allowing the others natural joy and overabundance of happiness to flood into his boy. 

The alpha pulled back which promptly caused the omega to whine, “Chanyeol!” 

“Soo, it’s going to be perfect regardless,” Chanyeol said, lightly kissing his mate’s lips once again, “Trust me, you don’t need to stress this much. Tao is going to love all of this.” 

Kyungsoo deflated a little but still glared at the other, “How can you be so sure when you’ve never met him?” 

“Soo, have you seen this place and the food? Any cub would be ecstatic with it, trust me,” Chanyeol said and smiled that happy little infectious smile of his which drove Kyungsoo up the wall because he was as per usual one hundred per cent right.

About to start arguing again, purely because it would keep him from doing a thousand and one other things that he desperately wanted to do to Chanyeol right at that moment, damn the other for being such a perfect alpha and being oh so desirable at any god given second of the day, Kyungsoo was stopped from doing anything by the appearance of his elder cousin. Who promptly took one look at the intimate position that he and Chanyeol were in and sent a playful glare towards the pair. 

“And you have the cheek to complain about me and Yifan being mushy, Kyungsoo,” Joonmyeon chided playfully, shaking his head as if he were disgusted when in fact he was more than elated to see his younger cousin happy, “Honestly, you’ve corrupted his innocence Chanyeol. I am very disappointed in you.” 

“Ha!” Chanyeol shook his head towards his friend, “What innocence are you even talking about hyung? Ow…Soo what was that for?” 

Kyungsoo was standing there, with his entire face the colour of beetroot and a look to his eyes that screamed that he was literally about to murder someone if he was given half a chance to do so. The small fact that he had a knife in his hand, how it had changed so quickly no one could even guess in the slightest, only added to the sudden Yandere atmosphere that was building all around him. Suho pretty much feared for his life at this moment in time and was sure that Chanyeol would also end up a bloody pulp as well for what he had just said but before he could even begin to start to turn around to run away as fast as humanly possible, the tension in the room was suddenly adapted. 

A rather large, very much squished looking black and white toy was placed in front of Kyungsoo’s face and his instincts to murder everyone in the room disappeared in seconds. “Mister Frisbee!” Kyungsoo yelled in a high pitched, adorable tone, snatching the toy and hugging it to his chest like it was the most important thing the world. The small omega spun on his heels, his expression taking on one of complete joy, along with sparkles, rainbows and stars shooting off in any direction before a hug was suddenly thrown around the large omega who had been behind him. 

“You returned him!” Kyungsoo said brightly, pulling back and immediately hugging the toy, “I thought you were never going to.” 

“I promised to fix him Kyungsoo, I wasn’t keeping him,” Kris smiled down towards the younger omega, a light dusting of a blush on his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head, “It just took me longer than I thought.” 

Chanyeol stared opened mouthed at the pair before turning back towards his long time friend with wide eyes. Suho for a second looked just as confused before he suddenly let out a laugh, “So it was you who took the pocket penguin’s penguin, Yifan.” 

“I did not take it,” Yifan pouted back towards his mate, though not quite with the level of confidence that one would expect, “I borrowed Mister Frisbee to fix him and it’s just taken me a while…” 

Kyungsoo still grinned as he spun around to go back to what he had been doing before, “I don’t care! I got Mister Frisbee back! I’m happy.” 

Chanyeol frowned, “Huh?”   
Letting out a sigh, Suho grabbed hold of his taller friend after sending a flying kiss towards Yifan who started to help Kyungsoo arrange a different platter of unicorn themed cakes and soon had Chanyeol sat down at the far end of the garden with a stern expression on his face. “Right,” Suho said, not really knowing how to even begin this conversation because it was honestly not one that he was ever expecting to have to have. Well maybe with his own cubs but that would be a long time into the future and the trio who were getting there had their aunt and uncle, so they could have that joy. Whilst he did love the trio as his own sons, there were some things that he was seriously not ready for and he very much doubted that his mate would be able to go through that talk easily after all the terrible things that had happened to him. 

However, before the small alpha could even begin to form the start of a really long set of complicated sentences, Chanyeol smiled brightly and raised his hand in a stop sign towards his friend. “Before you start, I know about all about that. I probably know a hell of a lot more about how this all works and the way our bodies and minds work when it comes to mates, heats and all of that because I had to know about all of that before I joined the OD. Plus, when I had joined the OD, I had to go through more classes on the more intricate details about out autonomy, our biological needs, our emotional needs, what is wolf, what isn’t wolf, how human we are and everything like that. I get that my little Soo is young, he’s barely matured and yet here he is having a regular heat cycle and he’s happened to find me as a mate whose far more mature physically in both human and wolf form. I get that he’s going to have unstable emotions, mood swings and all of the other joys that me and you went through together and that even now, he can literally be placated by plushi’s and other things which a lot of people consider to be childish but that’s just the way we are.” 

Chanyeol paused to try and stop himself laughing at the expression that was currently residing on Suho’s face, “Dude, seriously, I’m more prepared for dealing with omegas than you are and that’s saying something.” 

Suho blinked, completely lost for a few seconds, “So how did…what was…I’m confused.” 

Letting out a sigh, Chanyeol shook his head, “I didn’t get the pocket penguin reference and I was surprised that Kyungsoo didn’t fly into a rage about being called one either. I mean, I’ve called him an Owl a couple of times and I got a fist in the gut for it, but Kris calls him a pocket penguin and he’s just so happy about it.” 

Looking confused, Suho clicked and shook his head, “Oh that. It’s something…. I don’t even get it. I thought it was a reference to Poporor or something but it’s just something between those two.” 

“Really?” Chanyeol asked, tilting his head, “I thought that Yifan didn’t really get on with anyone though…until recently.” 

“Him and Kyungsoo have been friends for years,” Suho shrugged, “I don’t know quite how it happened, but they meet up regularly. The toy I know originally came from a prize stall at a fair and they’ve played swaps with it for years. One holds onto it for about six to eight months and then gives it back to the other then it continues but they’re always returning it for this reason or that.” 

Chanyeol squeed out loud, “That is it just too cute.” 

“I know, cute omega stuff,” Suho shrugs before looking back towards the kitchen window and sighing. “Have you talked to him yet?” 

“About the future plan?” Chanyeol nodded, “Yeah…it sort of happened when…we were in a lull. It kind of sucks that we’re in this situation but there’s nothing that we can do about it and the OD does have provisions set in place for stuff like this. I mean I know of one guy there whose mate is actually only like thirteen but seriously they’re the most loving couple of the planet and everyone has the highest respect levels for him.” 

Suho blinked, “But he still works at the OD?” 

Chanyeol nodded, “Yeah, I’ll still be working there too.” 

“Huh?” Suho found himself once again confused. 

Chuckling, his friend sighed, “Dude, the OD is not just a place where omegas go to get hooked up during their heats. It’s actually a reputable agency with models, actors, singers, musicians and all sorts of different media outlets that most don’t know about it. Plus, I’ll let you in on a little secret, most of the guys that the omegas meet on their dates are actually already mated and are there to make sure that things don’t get out of hand. Sure, they’re handpicked and all the rest of it, but they’re also trained to be hosts and trained to spot trouble and trained to make sure that the right omega is matched with the right alpha.” 

“But…it’s just a personality test, how does that work?” Suho was enthralled now. 

“There’s a lot of science behind it but I haven’t quite gone into that sector yet,” Chanyeol said, “All I know is that they do a lot of DNA matching and scent linking before putting anyone in to make sure that the omegas don’t get hurt. It was why I had to go through that almost month long medical before I could even be considered. It’s still actually quite rare for the OD to find mates, I think there’s only been like seven confirmed cases excluding me and Soo and if they do suspect they’ll make sure that the omega has the best selection of bodyguards around them just in case.” 

Suho blinked, “So basically, when you met Soo for the first time…”

“I was being hounded by five guys who were all more concerned with protecting the omega from my alpha who could potentially nuts at being so close to his future omega,” Chanyeol replied, “That’s why I was so flighty and nervous and basically made a fool of myself on the first meet up because seriously those guys are awesome but they scared the living daylights out of me.” 

Letting out a laugh, Suho hit his friend on the shoulder, “I scare the living daylights out of you, as does Luhan and you’re bigger than the pair of us.” 

“Yeah, you try having five guys around you who could knock you out with a punch,” Chanyeol said quietly, “Yeah, they teach you to do that as well. Though they were actually really nice about it afterwards and said they understood why I was called a Beagle by all my friends.” 

“More like a puppy,” Kyungsoo said, appearing out of no where and latching his arms around Chanyeol’s neck with a pout, “You’re the least scary alpha that I’ve ever met Chanyeol.” 

Chanyeol grinned and managed to pull the smaller man around into his lap for a cuddle, “Well, you’re the most scariest and vicious omega ever so we balance one another out.” 

Letting out a sound, Suho pulled himself to his feet glad to spot that Yifan was only a few steps away, “Let’s leave these two alone, I really don’t need to listen to Kyungsoo being a soppy little lovesick puppy.” 

Yifan giggled as Kyungsoo spluttered some half sounding evil phrases towards him but Chanyeol was there to sooth the frazzled omega down in a matter of seconds and if he was truthful, Yifan really didn’t need to see that as of yet. HE smiled when they sat down together at the other end of the garden, on a picnic bench that was near to the wendy house that the boys had, and he felt a smile crossing his face. Gently he linked Suho’s fingers with his own as he rested his head on his shoulder, “You know something, Joonmyeon?” 

“What?” Joonmyeon whispered back, reaching across to pluck a chocolate from the center of the table in order to feed it to his mate. 

“On your welcome back party, I was actually watching you from next door,” Yifan said, a blush crossing his features, “Yixing’s mother offered me the chance to stay over so I took the long way around and just sat at the windows and watched.” 

Unable to stop himself, Joonmyeon turned to look at the house next door that was situated behind him and was easily able to spot the window that Yifan was talking about. It was an odd domra style one that sat half way out on top of the conservatory and had been fashioned into a nice little window seat at some point in time. He couldn’t see inside of course, so he had no idea if there were any cushions or anything and when he turned back he realized that it would be perfectly situated to watch everything that was going on in the garden. 

He smiled dazzling as he turned towards Yifan, “So you already knew that I would accept the cubs?” 

Yifan nodded, “I knew the second that you ran to me on the platform…everything started changing at that point and just…I guess I wanted to you to know it.” 

Their voices were still quiet, despite the party not having fully started as of yet and Suho wasn’t about to allow himself to raise the noise level and bring a load of unwanted attention on himself and his partner. Leaning forward, Suho pressed a loving kiss on Yifan’s lips before pulling back to smile at his omega, “I knew it then to, even though it was only a little change in the way your eyes reflected the light of the world, I knew that I had made the correct choice. Not that there was ever any doubt it me doing so of course.” 

Shyly hiding his face away in Suho’s neck, Yifan allowed himself a moments weakness. To just be held softly by his alpha and let the world around them just go by because it was all he had ever really wanted in his life. Just Joonmyeon, holding him, protecting him and loving him without doing or saying anything. They had been far too young when they had met, far too innocent to really get what it was that their wolves wanted or needed to try and do at that time and whilst there had always been fear and a sense of hopelessness about their situation there was also love. Lots of young, beautiful and pure love that had never been corrupted, changed or wrecked even throughout the long years that it had been tried and tested. 

Suho gently kissed the tops of Yifan’s ears, liking the way that they flicked before gently kissing the top of his head, then his forehead, then the bridge of his nose, the tip of it, his right cheek, his left cheek and just to be annoying his chin before finally kissing him on the lips like he wanted to in that moment and both of them felt pure bliss. 

It was spoilt two seconds later when a voice shrieked, “Ew! Mama! No!” 

Kai launched himself at Yifan, wrapping his arms and legs tightly around the tall man’s frame with a scowl on his face, “No, Mama! No soppy girly kisses!”   
Yifan looked down at his son in bewilderment whilst Joonmyeon couldn’t help but burst into laughter before he shook his head down towards the child. However, it was Sehun who chastised this brother, giving him a very ‘ice prince’ glare that was so reminiscent of Kris it was spooky. “Stop being so loud and rude, Kai,” Sehun said matter of factly, “You want Taemin to give you girly kisses all the time.” 

Kai let out a frantic yell, trying to wave his hands towards his younger brother in order to get him to shut up whilst the two grown ups burst into gales of laughter. Part of them knew fine well that they should be chastising one or both of the cubs right now because that was definitely not on any level of appropriate acceptance given that the two boys were still twelve years old, but it was also hilarious. 

Jinsoo wasn’t far away though and she grabbed the pair of them by the scruffs of their neck, “Honestly! Jongin! Sehun! What has gotten into you two lately? I swear, you better behave or else you’re going straight to bed and will miss out on the party.” 

This only caused Joonmyeon and Yifan to fall into more laughter though they really couldn’t explain the reason to most of the party guests who were looking at the pair with quizzical looks. Yulan raised her eyebrows and shook her head towards the pair of them, “Honestly you two, I think you’re rubbing off on them boys.” 

“Hey,” Joonmyeon chided back playfully, “At least I actually called them kisses and only got annoyed when someone else would try to give Yifan one.” 

“What was worse at the time, was that the kid wasn’t even going to give Yifan a kiss,” Luhan said, having turned up straight from work with a selection of boxes that smelt divine. 

Joonmyeon frowned towards the other alpha, “Yes he was. They were playing catchy-kissy at the time.” 

“No, you and the others were playing catchy-kissy at the time,” Luhan said smugly, “Yifan had come in for a day visit to see if he could cope with the brats in our school and only happened to be there.” 

“So, that kid still went for him,” Joonmyeon pouted, hugging Yifan close. 

Luhan rolled his eyes, “The kid in question is now one of the biggest idols in the world and he was trying to kiss you, you dork!” 

Joonmyeon blinked, opened his mouth to argue and closed it again before recalling that memory over in his head and trying to figure out if the other was just coming up with a silly story or not again. Luhan rolled his eyes, “Didi, whilst your dork of a alpha tries to figure out something from years ago, come and give me a hand with these will you? Soo’s obviously distracted enough so he won’t complain.” 

Yifan shook his head, gently kissed Joonmyeon’s lips before leaning close to whisper a name and then gently turned to follow Luhan back to the kitchen. His alpha looked highly confused which set Yulan off laughing again and it wasn’t long before the pair were actively engaged in a conversation about that particular event. Yifan could only barely remember it, because he had freaked out when Joonmyeon reacted badly to it and had to be taken straight home in the car, but it had only lasted a short while before he had calmed down. Though that may have had something to do with the other turning up with cookies or something. But Yifan shook his head to dispel the thought as it gave him too much of a head ache to really think about those times and he wanted to focus on the positive side of life. 

He’d been in the dark far too long, been living away from everyone who could make his life better and worthwhile and he had a lot of ground to make up. Sure, he knew there were going to be times when he wouldn’t be able to cope, times when he would just run away and hide, other times when he would break down and just refuse to have anything to do with the outside world, but he could work on that. He had Joonmyeon who would stick by him through everything, he had Luhan who was always there to punch someone if they upset someone, he had his mothers constant love and support, he had Hyuna’s guidance and he had three wonderful babies who were just the epitome of perfect and more than willing to share him with their large extended family as well. 

Luhan laughed, “Didi, you look so cute right now.” 

“Huh?” Yifan blinked, looking at his older brother, “What are you on about?” 

“You’re happy,” Luhan said with a smile, his eyes twinkling, “For the first time in a long while you’re truly happy and it really does suit you.” 

Giving the elder a look, Yifan gently gave him a push and shook his head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Yes, you do, don’t deny it Yifan,” Luhan said with a happy sigh as he looked back out at Joonmyeon. For once a scowl did not cross his face, nor did distrust linger in his eyes. Whilst the pair were best friends and had been since the incident, there had always been a seed of distrust in Luhan, a notion that if Joonmyeon did not make Yifan happy one day then he would fulfill his promise and literally kick the other to death. Nothing would change the alpha’s mind about that fact, for he loved his little brother and wished every single night that he would one day be happy because he had wanted the little scamp back. Luhan never talked about the times when Yifan was gone, the day that he was taken away by their Uncle because he had felt so horrendously responsible. If he had not trusted the uncle so much, if he hadn’t been so stupid to tell him that Yifan was at home with a cold that day, then none of this would have happened. 

Of course, at the time, Luhan wasn’t aware of there being anything wrong with his uncle. No one in the family knew of his history with underage omegas or his fascination with them and he had always been a kind, loving uncle to both Yifan and Luhan so there was no way that he could have even suspected that there was anything wrong the day that the uncle came to pick him up from Middle School. He wasn’t to know that his mother had been slipped a tea which made her fall asleep at work, which no one had commented on because it was believed at the time that she was pregnant, and some omegas got really sleepy when they were. He did not suspect a thing when the uncle said that he would take him for some ice cream and bubble tea, or that anything was wrong with either because the ten-year-old alpha had just taken the gifts with a smile and fallen asleep in the car on the way home. He had woken up in his bed, the next day, to a cold house, a raging fever and the wailings of his mother who was going through a miscarriage. 

But Luhan wasn’t to know all of this yet, he was still so groggy and when he had gone to check on Yifan, the only thing he could do was scream. His little brothers bed had been torn apart, there was red and odd green patches on it and no sign of Yifan anywhere. HE had raced to his mother, but she was too distressed to do anything, so he had done the only thing that a ten-year-old could do. Ran next door to beg for help. Luhan didn’t recall much of what went on after that, there were too many grown ups around, too many people asking him too many questions and all Luhan wanted to know was that his mother was going to be all right and where his little brother was. 

It was a few days later when the chief inspector came to explain about the uncle’s past record, about what he had done to other underage omegas and how he had hidden it and Luhan had hidden behind one of the doors in the dining room to listen as he wasn’t really meant to hear. The words were horrible to hear, even worse to imagine and Luhan had out of the house, out of the garden and he had just ran. Ran until he couldn’t run any further, ran until he was sure that he would never find his way home and then, in the middle of the woods, he broke down into tears of regret and hatred towards himself. How could he have not known about all of this? How could he have allowed this monster into their life? How could he had been so stupid as to not realize that everything that had happened was all linked, that he should have protected his little brother from the start because that was his job as an alpha. He had always promised to protect Yifan and Yulan, to make up for the mistakes that his father had done to them and here he had already failed them both. 

His cries had thankfully led his panicked mother straight to him, as he hadn’t run that far, only to the woods at the local park about ten minutes away from the house, and she had held him in her arms tightly, crying with him but constantly telling Luhan that it wasn’t his fault. He had done nothing wrong and no one would ever blame him. But at the time, Luhan had blamed himself and each day that Yifan was missing made him feel even worse. He became lackluster and barely attended school or even attempted to live and Yulan was so worried about him that he had to be sent to a specialist doctor for months to try to get him to understand that none of this was his fault. 

Then they got the call that Yifan had been found and Luhan had practically scrambled to the specialist ward to see his brother, only to be forced back because Yifan did not recognize him or want him near. Yifan smelt an alpha on him and freaked out, wanting them all away and Luhan felt even more terrible than he had before. But a new determination filled him, one that would not go away no matter what anyone said or did and he tried for an entire week to see Yifan. He used aerosols, soaps, his mother’s perfumes and even jumped into the laundry bag before he went to see his little brother just to try and hide his scent from the other so that he could see him but Yifan still pulled away. 

On the last visit, Luhan had broken down again, feeling like he had lost his brother for the second time and failed to give him the comfort and confidence that he needed at the time. Yulan had taken him home and spoken softly, telling him that Yifan was asking to see Luhan and that he did but his mind and senses were still in a protective mode at the moment and it would take time for him to get past that. Luhan grimly said that he wouldn’t give up on Yifan, that he would keep on visiting every single day until the other was ready and he kept that promise. Even though Yifan would hide away from him, would refuse to look at him – though had thankfully stopped screaming every time he walked into the room – Luhan kept on going and just prayed that one day, Yifan would look at him the way that he used to. After two weeks of this, Luhan felt as though it was all in vain and was idly plucking at one of Yifan’s toys when he suddenly realized what he was doing and grabbed it in a tight hug. He poured all of his scent into it, the protective nature, the want to be a big brother, his love and hopes for his little brother that he had held since the moment he found out that his mother was pregnant with Yifan and hoped that the message would be conveyed to the youngster that he was a good alpha, that he was an alpha who would protect him, who would hug him, hold him and love the little lost omega because not all were like the monsters who had hurt Yifan. 

The omega had stared at the toy when it was presented to him, shakily reaching out to take it in his fingers and he had held it close with shaky little movements. It hadn’t been much, but it had made Luhan smile and nod before carefully backing away from the room. Though as he had turned, he was brought to a complete stop when a tiny voice reached his dark coloured ears, “Lu-gege?” 

A tiny, still healing hand had reached out towards him at that point and without thinking Luhan had raced forward and pulled the still then little omega into his arms and held him tight. He held him for so long that they practically melded together but no one complained or tried to pull them apart. It took a long while for Luhan to stop blaming himself for what happened, to actually understand that all the horrible things that had happened were not his fault but he never let any of this show to Yifan, instead he worked on making the omega happy, of trying to get him to love himself again and to kick Joonmyeon into being the strong protective alpha that Yifan would need. Even though he had barely been a child when everything had happened, Luhan knew that he couldn’t always be there for his brother, that someone else would step in and heal the broken bits that he couldn’t quite reach and that had always been the factor that kept him going. 

So, to finally see Yifan looking happy made Luhan even more happier than he could have ever imagined and the weight which had been sitting heavily on his shoulders since he was ten was lifted a great deal. 

Yifan raised an eyebrow at his brother before sighing and staring out at the garden where there was a general excitement being raised because Hyuna had informed them that she was on her way with Tao. He smiled and leaned gently against the bench, “I don’t really know what I am yet, Gege, but I’m glad you’re here to see it with me.” 

“So am I, didi,” Luhan said, finishing setting some of the cakes from the bakery onto plates and smiling to himself, “For a while I was worried that something like this would never happen but I’m glad it did.” 

For a few long seconds, Yifan regarded his elder brother and then smiled, “Luhan, you do know that I never blamed you right?” 

Luhan blinked, bewildered, “What?” 

“For what happened,” Yifan said softly, “For what…that horrible man did.” 

Staring at the other, Luhan opened his mouth and closed it a few times like a fish gasping for air. Yifan could only smile slightly towards the other, “I probably should have told you a long time ago, then you wouldn’t have been so focused on me rather than your own needs. What happened that day…no one was to blame but that man and…” taking a deep breath, Yifan looked out towards the garden once again, “I guess…I owe you a whole lot that I didn’t realize that I owed you and you’re the best Gege in the entire world.” 

“Yifan…I…but…” Luhan was flabbergasted and even more surprised when he was pulled into a hug by his much taller little brother.

Yifan smiled as he held on tightly to his brother, “I don’t blame you, I never blamed you and I love you and I always will.” Lightly he pulled back from the hug and booped Luhan on the nose, “I’m happy now, I’m free of all that and if you want me to stay happy then I think it’s about time you did something about your own happiness.” 

Luhan blushed, “What do you mean?” 

Instead of speaking aloud, Yifan leant close to his brother and whispered a few quiet words before slipping away with a plate of the most wonderful looking cakes and a giggle. It was hard not too when Luhan, the self proclaimed manly man that he was, suddenly looked like a school girl blushing a bright red after having been caught out with his crush. 

Yifan was still giggling as he set down the lovely recently baked treats which caused Joonmyeon to twist his head up at him with a quizzical expression on his face, “What’s got you all giggling like that?” 

“Nothing,” Yifan said with a light blush dusting his features though there was a twinkle to his eyes, “Well nothing that you need to worry about.” 

A more concerned look was sent his way but instead of answering, Yifan just offered Joonmyeon a sweet treat off the plate and smiled all the more. He couldn’t actually believe how much he was smiling and how much at ease he now felt with everything despite everything seeming to have happened in such a fantastic rush that it was unreal. There was part of him that knew that the bubble would pop, that eventually this would all just become the usual humdrum way of life but for now he was just enjoying it and learning to love life again. 

Joonmyeon was still giving him some funny looks though but thankfully the alpha was distracted by the guest of honor arriving and the clamour that was caused. Mainly because Tao had been able to sneak up behind his two baby brothers and jump them from behind to smother the pair in hugs and kisses. Naturally they had tried to retaliate but then got so caught up with their emotions that they started to bawl like babies and refused to let go of Tao for the better part of half an hour. 

It was adorable, cute and a little on the messy side as there was so much snot flying around but everyone just allowed the trio to do what they needed to do at the moment and worried about it all later. When finally the cubs were convinced to let go of their brother, Tao was immediately swamped by a series of concerned adults who were happy to hug him and his classmates who had turned up who generally wanted to play and stuff their faces to the brim with all the wonderful sweets that had been prepared. Tao glomped Kyungsoo so hard that they pair fell over and he was immediately fussing over Chanyeol wanting to know everything that he could about the big alpha but barely pausing between his half asked, half signed questions to even begin to get an answer. It was Taeyang who finally got Tao to calm down and back to the party he was supposed to be involved in, but it wasn’t long before the cub was rushing about with his friends and clearly enjoying the ability to be a high spirited young cub once again. 

Though after a few hours, it was clear that he was becoming very tired and sleepy so Yifan seized his chance and pulled the youngster into his lap whilst the rest of the cubs went running around after Yixing who had appeared for some odd reason dressed in a unicorn onesie. Tao blinked sleepily up at Yifan and smiled, “Hello Mama.” 

“Go to sleep, baby,” Yifan said softly, beginning to rock Tao back and forth, “You can play with your friends later.” 

Tao nodded, smiling happily as he curled into Yifan’s chest and lightly began sucking on his thumb for no good apparent reason. The omega mother smiled and couldn’t even bring himself to roll his eyes when there were several clicks of different cameras because after all they had been through, it was nothing short of a miracle that they could be like this and that thought alone made Yifan feel as though life was just exactly where it was meant to be. 

Even if he did have to go through his own mating ceremony within the next month, something which was slightly daunting but for once Yifan wasn’t going to worry about it. He was happy, and it was a feeling that he never wanted to lose again.


	11. Chapter 10 - Mating Ceremony

There was a tiny clap of thunder in the distance, way over the horizon but the dark clouds somehow didn’t seem to be coming over to this side of the continent which made Luhan let out yet another happy sigh of relief. Yes, he had obsessively checked the weather report some nineteen times in the past twenty minutes and he had been tracking all the weather information on at least twenty different weather websites for the past month, but it was all in a good cause. Even if he was being anally retentive about it all. 

But it wasn’t every day that your little brother was going through his mating ceremony and Luhan wanted everything to be perfect. It had to be perfect, completely straight out of a fairy tale magical with the perfect weather, the perfect atmosphere, venue, clothing, guest list and food and nothing in the slightest could go wrong. Not even a single flower being out of place because the whole day would be otherwise spoilt and Luhan couldn’t have that. 

Yulan had at first frowned over her eldest son’s over-reaction as she had never heard of the organizer of the ceremony turning into the equivalent of a bridezilla – normally the one who was getting everything arranged for them turned into that – but very quickly everyone began to realize that this was Luhan’s way of giving back to Yifan and he wasn’t being a brat because he had some vendetta against every other person who wanted to have a perfect mating ceremony. Luhan just wanted to give Yifan the perfect mating ceremony because it was what he deserved. The poor omega had gone through more than enough, so this day wasn’t just about him joining with Joonmyeon with a flimsy bit of paper, this day was all about Yifan and Joonmyeon. It was a day to celebrate their love, their undying commitment through the long years, their innocence, their purity and for all the hopes that they would get to live the most beautiful and graceful lives ever because they both deserved it. 

The ceremony was going to be a mixture of traditional and modern, because some aspects of the traditional ceremony would undoubtably cause too many problems and even Joonmyeon had put his foot down about them. Whilst there would be a few who would turn their noses up at these traditions being left out, Luhan agreed that since Yifan already had children of his own who would be attending it would not be a great idea for them to be included. They mainly revolved around the act of mating, of how the packs would normally stay to watch the pair consume the ceremony but since both parties already carried their mating marks, it was something that could easily be ignored. Plus, Luhan did not trust himself to not attempt to attack Joonmyeon as he made love to his brother. Sure, he knew that it had happened, hell he had been in the house and had practically heard the whole damn exchange even though he was as far away as possible with his headphones on at maximum volume, but he very much doubted that he could physically stand and watch Joonmyeon making love to Yifan. It would be creepy and could trigger anything off. 

Thankfully many modern ceremonies did not hold with this tradition, the couple instead would spend a few hours away from the assembled guests in order to ‘rest and recuperate’ when really everyone knew exactly what was going on. 

Though one of the traditions which had been kept, mainly because Luhan had volunteered to do it before they had started even planning the ceremony, was that the eldest male relative of the omega would organize the whole event hence why the responsibility had fallen to Luhan. Usually it was a pack alpha who did all the organization, as many adored their omega children and wanted to show them off in an odd sort of power battle with the pack that the omega was going to but these days it was more done to maintain tradition and others could influence the choices. Luhan had been more towards the former of the dynamics but only because he wanted to make sure that Yifan got the ceremony that he deserved and that there would never be a doubt in anyone’s mind that this relationship wasn’t designed to last. 

So, he had done everything and organized it all to be perfect and indulged in what he could for their budget to make sure that both Joonmyeon and Yifan would look handsome as the sun and moon on their big day and that everything else would all just fit into place to make it perfect. It was a lot of hard work, frustrating and brought out a very unmanly side of Luhan but at this moment in time he was far more concerned with the weather than anything else. 

Which made it all the more easier for Yifan to sneak up behind him and give him a surprise tickle attack. 

“Bloody hell!” Luhan yelled, turning to glare at his grinning taller younger brother, “Don’t do that, you little slug! You frightened the life out of me.” 

Yifan chuckled, “That was sort of the point. You weren’t responding to my question, so I had to get you out of it somehow, gege.” 

Luhan blinked, “You were asking me questions?” 

A nod was his reply before a thumb was gently pointed over his shoulder, “Mama wants to know what you want for breakfast seeing as you’ve been on the weather reports for the last hour or so.” 

A blush crossed Luhan’s cheeks as he quickly turned, closed all of the weather apps and set the laptop to shut down before following Yifan down to the kitchen. “Well…I just wanted to make sure that…” 

“Stop it Lulu,” Yulan said smoothly, presenting her alpha son with a plate that was stacked with at least ten pancakes, “We’ve heard that broken record more than enough times now. We know, I get it, but you can’t change a single thing just because of a little bit of rain. The venue is equipped for that and you’re just faffing now.” 

Luhan sighed and turned his pleading eyes to his brother before remembering that Yifan really didn’t have a say in anything like this. He pouted before starting on his stack of pancakes, “I’m glad that I only have to do this the once. It’s been so stressful.” 

“Only because you’ve allowed yourself to become obsessed with it,” Yulan muttered as she took a long sip out of her cup, “Though if you’re like this with Yifan, I dread to think what you’ll be like for your own mating ceremony.” 

A groan came out of the eldest, “Mother, we are not having this conversation right now.” 

“But Luhan, you are getting on and I worry for you not having a mate,” Yulan teased winking at Yifan who was still staring at his breakfast as if he had no appetite. For once Yulan did not chastise the youngster for not eating, easily able to remember what she had been like on her own mating ceremony all those years ago and mentally agreeing that breakfast would not be a good idea. Unless they wanted their omega to vomit all over his beautiful suit which was something neither of them wanted. 

Luhan sighed but before he could speak, Yifan innocently asked, “You did invite Guan along as your plus one, right, Gege?”   
Immediately Yulan turned to her eldest with a look that said he was in for a million and one questions and Yifan took the opportunity to just slip away from the pair. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be around them, far from it, their excitement was tangible and even though he was nervous as hell he too was really looking forward to the events of the day ahead of them. But there was one thing that he wanted more than anything else in the entire world right now and thankfully with his mother and brother distracted, Yifan could steal a quick couple of minutes to speak to Joonmyeon. 

Tradition stated that the couple who were due to be mated shouldn’t meet with one another for a week before hand but that had been pretty much thrown straight out of the window and it had only been yesterday morning when they had separated. Whilst the pair couldn’t physically see one another there was nothing in the rules about talking over the phone and Yifan just wanted five minutes to hear his mates voice just to calm his raging nerves. 

Joonmyeon appeared to be just as eager as he answered on the first ring with a, “Hello my little omega, how are you fairing?” 

“Reasonably well,” Yifan replied with a grin, “Luhan’s still being a little on the obsessive side but Mama’s dealing with him and I’m just sort of…going with the flow at the moment.” 

There was a chuckle at the end of the line, “I know that feeling. At least you’ve just got those two, I swear half of my family are here and the boys are just racing around like crazy.” 

A smile broke across Yifan’s face, “Really?” 

“Yeah, I swear they’ve been at the chocolates or something because they’re just…oh hang on,” there was a pause for about thirty seconds before Joonmyeon came back onto the line, “Sorry, was getting tackled by Jessica and at least three others so I’ve come into the conservatory for a bit.” 

“Tackled?” Yifan asked with a laugh. 

Joonmyeon let out a whining noise, “Yes, tackled! They want me washed and in the main room to do my hair and they’re bleating on about make up and I’m trying to tell them that we don’t go through the ceremony until later and it’s just…I want some peace and quiet before all this kicks off.” 

“I would say come around here but I think Luhan would kick your butt,” Yifan said lightly. 

“Luhan is going to kick your behind in a minute, didi, if you don’t get off the phone to lover boy soon,” Luhan called at that exact moment from the bottom of the stairs, “You still need a bath and to have your hair done as well and don’t think you’re getting away without the make up either.” 

Yifan turned his head to look at his brother, “You do know the start time of the ceremony, right?” 

“Yes, 1pm. It’s currently 8:30am and by the time we get you bathed, dressed, hair styled, make up on and photographs done it’s going to be 12:15pm so like I said, get up and moving because this schedule is going to go exactly the way I planned it.” 

For a second Yifan paused, “How long do I get to talk to Joonmyeon for?” 

“Five minutes,” Luhan yelled, “I’m running the bath and Mama’s getting your suit out. Anything more and I’ll drag you in myself.” 

Yifan returned to the phone, giggling a little, “I’m on a schedule that’s as tight as an Idol’s I think.” 

“Yeah, Luhan gave the girls one too and he even schedule a time for us to talk if we didn’t talk before all this started,” Joonmyeon giggled, a metallic rattling noise coming from his end of the line and he sighed, “Though by the sounds of things I’m about to be captured and dragged off to the bath tub so I guess this is going to have to be quick.” 

Yifan smiled, “I love you.” 

“I love you to,” Joonmyeon replied, “With all my heart and all the way to the moon and back.” 

The smile on the omegas face grew, as did the blush, “I know, and you are everything to me.” 

A big sigh came from behind the omega with the goofy grin, before there was a big intake of breath, “AND THEY CALL IT PUPPY LO~VE~!” 

Yifan was off the phone and up the stairs as fast as he could manager in order to stop his brother singing that song any louder or longer whilst he could just hear Joonmyeon’s playful groaning over the phone as he desperately tried to stop laughing. 

~*~

Hyuna smiled softly as she straightened Joonmyeon’s tie seeing as the alpha was actually quaking with nerves as they were only a few minutes away from the start of the ceremony. Technically it should have been Joonmyeon’s mother who was doing this, but she had been dragged away by a frantic Luhan with only the half-screeched words of eyeliner and something being the wrong colour to explain. Hyuna had raised her eyebrow but simply shook her head and gone to try and keep Joonmyeon calm. 

“Aunty,” Joonmyeon said softly, breaking the woman out of her words, “Why do we have to go through this whole affair?” 

“Because it is the way of things,” Hyuna replied brightly, smiling and recalling how she had been on her own mating ceremony so long ago, “It’s a tradition that spans hundreds of years and you’ve never once questioned why it has to happen before so don’t start doing it now.” 

Joonmyeon sighed, “It’s not that I don’t want to be mated to Yifan…this just feels…” he trailed off, not entirely sure if he could honestly express his feelings correctly without sounding like some kind of spoilt brat or an ungrateful wretch. Just this whole thing felt excessive even though he knew that it was toned down and that Luhan would have done everything perfect. He would have been happy with a simple ceremony in an office like he had heard of others. 

Hyuna however just laughed, “You’re nervous, my dear little nephew.” 

“What? No, I’m not,” Joonmyeon whined clearly displaying just how nervous he was before wringing his hands together, “Well I am but not because I don’t know if me and Yifan will work but more because…I’m worried for Yifan! This is going to be too much for him and if it triggers an attack then I don’t know what we’ll do and I don’t want to hear all of those horrible uncles who have already tried to stop this mating from happening cause they’ll just start complaining and it’ll turn into a mess and…” 

A hand clapped firmly over Joonmyeon’s mouth, startling the alpha for a second because he honestly didn’t know quite who or what he was supposed to do in this circumstance. His senses were just as skitzy as his brain at the moment, so he did not recognize the scent of the person and it wasn’t until he half turned his head that he found himself face to face with a slightly pissed off looking Kyungsoo. 

“Do me a favour, shut up and stop stressing already,” Kyungsoo snapped in a very authoritative voice which startled Joonmyeon even more because it wasn’t every day that he was on the receiving end of one of the omegas little lectures, “Nothing is going to happen to cause Yifan to freak out because since you two mated the other day he’s been nothing but rainbows and sparkles. You’re the one who needs to calm down and take a deep breath because you’ll have the freak out if you’re not careful.” 

A joyful burst of laughter came from the doorway as Joonsun, Joonmyeon’s mother, breezed back into the room where her son was getting ready with a radiant smile on her face. The pair were virtually identical in softness and presence, their auras similar too and everyone always said that it was a good thing tat Joonmyeon was more like his mother than his father. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with the man, but a gentle alpha was something to be very much admired and cherished. Until you really annoyed one of course, then you were in for a hell like no other. 

“There’s my baby boy, worrying and fussing over everything like he has always done,” Joonsun said brightly, taking over the responsibility of making sure that the tie was done correctly, “Honestly, I was expecting to find you hiding under the bed or in the wardrobe this missing because you always did that when you were stressed out as a little cub.” 

A flush crossed Joonmyeon’s face, “Umma! Don’t say that!” 

“Why? It’s true?” Joonsun smiled back as she squished her son’s cheeks, “You always do it when you’re stressed and don’t deny the fact that you were thinking of trying to get away and hide earlier either.” 

A whine came out of Joonmyeon’s lips, “You’re being embarrassing.”

“And you’re stressing for no reason,” Joonsun replied, smoothing out her son’s hair with a loving touch, “You will be fine. Yifan will be fine. In fact, I bet you that by the end of the day you’ll be wondering why you were even worrying this morning. Today is your day, where you announce your love to your mate and get to share that with everyone. It’s all going to go fine. Now stop fussing and just try to enjoy yourself for a little while, hmm?” 

Staring at his mother, Joonmyeon went to open his mouth to argue or to whine or to just do something in response to what she has said to him because he needed to do something to other than realize that her words were one hundred percent correct. Then his brain clicked to the fact that he was just being a little bit on the over reactive side and he let out a long sigh before shaking his head once again. A faint smile crossed his face, “Umma, how do you do that?” 

“How did you know to give your three son’s their respective roles in this little affair?” Joonsun asked, a knowing smile on her face as her eyes sparkled away. 

Blinking, Joonmyeon was confused to high heck before his brain clicked to what it was that she was referring to. Whilst Luhan had been pretty much in control of organizing everything, it had been Joonmyeon who had suggested that the trio of cubs should also get some kind of role in this great event as well. Whilst there would be grumblings from some parties who weren’t worth mentioning, Joonmyeon knew that the cubs would be crushed if they didn’t get to at least do something at the ceremony to make them feel part of everything that was happening. They were going to be a big part of Yifan and his life, so including them in one of the biggest days of the couple’s life was something that just appeared naturally in the alpha’s head.   
Luhan had been surprised when Joonmyeon suggested it but had readily agreed and then had the job of trying to get the boys calmed down enough so that they could take part. Thankfully finding appropriate roles had not been a bother in the slightest and Joonmyeon could not wait to see how wonderfully handsome all of them would be. It was a bit scary to think that he was going to become their father just before they hit their puberty which would mean that they wouldn’t be sweet adorable little cubs much longer. Already part of Joonmyeon was fearing that he was going to have to be fighting off a whole bunch of alphas as he was sure that his omega boys were going to be strikingly handsome just like their mother and part of him was rather terrified of the prospect. 

Another part of him already wanted to be overly protective of them all and never give them up, despite the fact that already Kai was firmly enamored with Taemin and it was very clear to even a blind man on a horse that they were indeed mates already. 

Those thoughts were pushed to the side though as another smile crossed his face as he recalled what it was that the boys would be doing for them that day. Sehun was going to be the Main Greeter and his job was to greet the guests as they arrived and direct them to their seats and once the main ceremony was over he was then going to help people to find their way to the main reception and then to their places for the feast as well. He was mega pleased with this responsibility and had apparently spent hours memorizing names and seating locations to such a phase where he could recite them word for word from memory. 

Kai had been given the job of helping to arrange the flowers and ensuring that everyone had a flower on the day to wear as a corsage or in a button hole. Each flower had a different meaning and would be allocated to a different person which was a lot of work to get right. Thankfully Kai had been fascinated by this prospect and spent hours learning about all kinds of flowers and seemed to be gaining a genuine interest in botany. He’d even set up a section of the garden as being his little garden and could be found at all hours tending to the soil and encouraging his plants to grow. 

When it came to Tao, it was a little hard at first to work out what sort of role he could be given. Anything to do with music was straight out of the window and even though he had recovered from the surgery there were still times when he would be simply too exhausted to do much and had a tendency to sleep far longer than he should. The doctors had said that this was something to be expected, as his omega body was adapting to the change whilst going through the natural processed of growing up, so the imbalances were going to be more noticeable. 

But then Tao had practically come up with his own special job for the day as three days ago, Chanyeol had gone into a huge panic as he had lost the special couple bracelets which were an integral part of the ceremony. Similar to the wedding bands that were worn by humans, the bracelets were to show union until the point of the mating mark upon the pairs neck which would become their permanent marker. The bracelets were then sealed together and would be placed into a special box to be only replaced back of the wrists of the mates once they both passed over. It was believed that the bracelets would allow their spirits to be rejoined in the land beyond the living so that they could live together happily in the afterlife until they were due to be reborn. Chanyeol was sure that they had brought them over to Yixing’s house, where Joonmyeon was staying for the time being as with the arrival of guests there was next to no room left at his house, or his aunt’s and Yulan was being playfully stubborn and not allowing him to stay over at hers.

Yifan and Joonmyeon had not yet seen their bracelets as per tradition but with Chanyeol loosing them three days before the main event, there had been a massive uproar in the attempt to find them. Virtually the whole house had been torn apart and turned upside down but there was no sign anywhere. Things were just about to get really out of hand, when Tao had turned up at the front door carrying a box which had been left at Hyuna’s the following morning and the cub had only found it because he was in the process of wrapping up gifts and had accidentally opened it just to check what was in it. He had actually scolded Chanyeol for being so forgetful and had promptly landed himself the job of being the keeper of the bracelets. He would hold onto them until it was time for them to be presented, when Luhan would collect them from the cub and Tao was apparently taking the role very seriously. 

He had even taken them to bed with him, in the box, so that it would never leave his sight. 

Luhan couldn’t have been any happier with the young cub and had smothered him in hugs and kisses for the better part of half an hour before kicking the tale of Chanyeol and telling him off for being a total useless idiot. Kyungsoo had stood off to the side and allowed this to happen under the pretense that Luhan would do a slightly kinder job of kicking the bigger alpha than he would. Though a carefully placed pout had the omega going to fuss over the big fool even if he was playfully continue to scold him for the rest of the evening. 

Shaking his head, Joonmyeon sighed, “It was just a natural thing to do. I just hope that nothing goes wrong cause…”

“Stop worrying and fussing over nothing,” Joonsun said, smiling brightly as she smoothed out her son’s hair once again, “Trust me when I say this, you have nothing to worry about and everything will go according to plan.” 

Opening his mouth to argue that they had all probably just been jinxed to high heaven by that remark, Joonmyeon gave up and just shook his head in response. There was really nothing more that he could honestly do now other than to prepare himself for walking out of that door and heading down to reach hold of Yifan’s hand. It still didn’t help to make him any less nervous though and he shook his head, “Why does this all have to be so stressful?” 

The two mothers shared a glance, a smile blossoming between them as they recalled the nerves that they had gone through on their own mating ceremonies and knew that there was nothing that they could say in order to calm Joonmyeon down right now. He would be a bundle of nerves and stress until the moment when his hand connected with his omega and then everything would just pass by in a happy blur. Of course, saying that would only result in an eye roll and a long-suffering sigh because experience could never be passed down through words alone and that was made the two omegas find it so adorably cute. Instead they spent the last few minutes of the preparation time making sure that Joonmyeon did look every last bit the handsome alpha that he was and took several hundred pictures on their phones because it was just the way of things. 

Joonmyeon had to had to admit that their happy natures were exactly what he needed in order to calm down and get through this whole situation but there was a part of his mind that was worried for Yifan and how he was fairing at this moment. He very nearly managed to get close to the curtains and take a peak out of them to try and catch a glimpse of his beloved who would undoubtably be getting into position now but he was caught by his mother and aunt and hauled back and told to just be a little on the patient side. 

Their giggles at his whining were enough to make Luhan raise an annoyed eyebrow towards the curtained doorway but he shook his head and turned back once again to his brother in order to faff on with his hair as there was one piece that refused point blank to stay where he wanted it to. Yifan pulled his head back out of reach and lightly swatted at Luhan, “Will you just leave it? I’m going to be sneezing throughout the vows if you try to put one more spray of hairspray on it.” 

Luhan sighed, “If it would just stay in place I’d be happy.” 

“Gege, please,” Yifan said, “Just leave it. I’ve already had more than enough faffing than I can cope with today.” 

Huffing, Luhan stopped and gave Yifan a critical eye over for the millionth time. There was practically nothing that he could do to counter the argument that his younger brother had given him, really there was nothing that could be done to make Yifan look more beautiful today than had already been done and the single piece of hair was a random flyaway bit that made everything just more wonderful to behold. Luhan wanted to find something that was wrong however, something that he could change and faff on with one last time because there was a part of him that was still a little sad at the prospect that after today, Yifan would belong fully to Joonmyeon and vice versa. They would be inseparable, and they would always have each other’s backs. Whilst he knew fine well that he would never loose contact with his didi, it was still a strange notion of giving up the role, of not being needed in the same light anymore and that very soon Yifan would be in his own house with his mate. He knew that it would one day come and by all the gods it had been way too long in the coming of this day but there was a still a part of his heart that didn’t quite want to let his little brother go. 

Yifan smiled lightly, “If you keep looking at me like that, Gege, you’re going to give Guan the wrong ideas.” 

In response the elder flicked the younger on the nose and tried to hide the blush crossing his features, “Don’t say that. Today is a big day for me to.” 

Yifan nodded, “I know. But I’m fine. I’m happy and you know that.” 

“I know, you’ve always been happiest with him,” Luhan pouted before sighing, “I guess…I’m just still not quite prepared for this.” 

Yifan smiled and pulled Luhan into a hug, “I won’t be far away, and you’ll still be the best Uncle in the entire world.” 

Returning the hug, Luhan nodded before pulling back with a smile, “Strangely that’s the hardest bit that I’ve got to accept…” 

Tilting his head to the side in confusion, Yifan never got to ask what Luhan meant by those words because several things happened all at once. The first was that Guan came over to Luhan with a look that clearly displayed her concern and uttermost affection for the alpha and she was quick to wrap her arms around his in a silent display of devotion which caused a warm smile to cross Luhan’s face. The second thing that happened was that there was a very loud clang from the back as Yixing had knocked into a table which held a silver plate on it and he was very embarrassed as he tried to pick it up and put it back into place. This was immediately followed by Sehun tripping over, which caused a fuss in of itself and merrily sent things into a little bubble of panic and confusion. 

Luhan sighed, rolled his eyes and proceeded to go and sort out the mess but not before stealing a little quick kiss of Guan who flushed a bright pink. Yifan just chuckled, “Take good care of Gege for me, Guan, he needs a lot of looking after.” 

“I know, Yifan,” Guan smiled back, “It’s my job to try and relax him at the end of the day.” 

Before Yifan could reply, he felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see Tao watching what was going on with a frown on his face. The cub looked up to his mother and Yifan quickly signed a brief explanation which had Tao sighing and shaking his head in response.   
Yifan smiled and gently patted Tao on the head, “It’s okay, baby, things like this happen all the time.” 

“I know,” Tao replied, “Just why it has to be my brothers all the time I really don’t know.” 

Guan glanced at Tao and smiled before kneeling down in front of him, “Hello. You must be Tao.” 

Tao immediately turned shy and hid in his mother’s side, peaking out at the new girl with slightly wide eyes. 

Guan smiled, “It’s okay. I’m your Uncle Luhan’s friend.” 

Thankfully just at that moment Luhan himself came back and was able to introduce the pair properly which settled the slight pounding in Yifan’s heart but that was mainly due to him seeing the time and knowing that in less that five minutes Joonmyeon would be coming out for them to be joined. It still felt sort of surreal and very much like they were all living in a dream, but it was anything but. Yifan couldn’t honestly believe that they were here, that this day had finally come and that it wasn’t going to just be ripped away from under his feet but being able to watch Tao and Guan made it all just a little bit more real in his heart and mind. It was happening, he was going to be mated to the man that he loved, and never again would he have to be afraid of anything. 

Before he could even begin to start worrying about it however, there was a flurry of movement and Luhan was directing Tao and Guan away to their appropriate placed and getting everyone into the correct place. Yifan found himself quickly alone at the altar, facing the large scenic view in front of him which was quite frankly breathtaking at the best of times and found himself naturally taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. A strange calm overtook him, a feeling of safety and belonging blossoming in his chest all of a sudden and he could barely hide the smile that was crossing his features. He knew that Joonmyeon was behind him now, could practically feel the air quivering as the alpha approached him and it was oh so tempting just to turn around and fully embrace the other, but he knew that he had to be patient and wait just a little longer. 

Three seconds later he felt the smooth fingers slipping into his large course hand and his eyes gravitated naturally towards the other without needing a single prompt to do so. A bright, glorious smile crossed the omegas face as he took in the perfect view of his alpha, looking all grand and strong and just everything that he had ever wanted in his life. Joonmyeon wore a suit of stonewash grey with a white tie and his hair was styled up and back from his face, allowing his handsomeness to shine through. He too sported a big and bright smile one his face and the alpha gave his tall omega a reassuring squeeze to his hand which was immediately returned. 

Joonmyeon almost didn’t recognize Yifan as the frightened shell of an omega whom he had come to know now stood before him tall and proud with such a bright and happy expression on his face that it was impossible to tell that anything bad had ever happened to him in his life. Joonmyeon swore to make sure that Yifan would always wear that smile from now on as he stepped just a little closer to his beautiful omega, taking in the high cheek bones, the light grey suit and red tie which the other wore. He smiled, “Hello Handsome, I’m so glad I’m taking you home tonight.” 

Blushing up a storm, Yifan shyly glanced away from Joonmyeon but there was still a smile on his lips all the same, “You’re not too bad yourself, my alpha.” 

A polite ‘ahem’ from the Elder who was conducting the ceremony brought the pair apart, but it was clear that they only really had eyes for one another now and that this formality was just going to be exactly what it was. The pair were too wrapped up in one another to notice anything or to even pay proper attention to the vows they were making because they had already made them and signed it with the marks on their necks a short while ago. 

The ceremony went off without a hitch, the vows being recited perfectly and all of them said and returned with heart felt feelings behind them. There was no fakery here, no promises that meant nothing and certainly nothing that would result in either partner ever questioning the faithfulness of the other. Wolves did not work like that, they always bonded for life and it was only through death that they could ever be parted. Everyone assembled in the room knew that Yifan and Joonmyeon would forever be together, it had been their fate from the moment that they had met and whilst they had been physically apart their hearts had always beaten together as one. 

Not that the pair in question actually noticed anything that was going on around them of course, they were far too caught up in each other to even really follow anything once their eyes met. Even once the ceremony had finished, the kisses had been shared to rapturous applause and cheers and they had posed for hundreds of different photographs, the alpha and omega were still firmly stuck together like glue. Nothing could distract either one from the other and it was beautiful to behold. The cubs rushed over a couple of times, with their own hugs and kisses and they received a little attention as well, but it was clear that the newly mated pair were just too caught up to really manage anything more than a few precious seconds away from one another. 

Sehun pouted a little but Yulan just smiled as she smoothed down his hair, “Don’t worry, my little sunshine, they’ll be like this for a day or two, but they’ll come back. You just run along and play with your brothers okay?” 

Nodding, Sehun glanced up once again at his Mama and Baba before smiling brightly at them and rushing off to find Jongin and Tao to see who could get to the top table first in order to get a slice of cake before anyone else. 

The rest of the evening fizzled on beautifully into a romantic swirl of wonderful food, speeches that made people blush and laugh and coo and dances that were sometimes fun, sometimes wild, but mostly sweet and romantic. Well between Yifan and Joonmyeon they were romantic, the pair just seeming to be in their own world as they slow danced to whatever song was playing as though they couldn’t even hear it. They remained wrapped in one another’s arms, eyes locked together like star crossed lovers and even though they barely spoke a word towards one another, it was tangible how much love was between the pair. 

Finally having enough of the sight of his little brother being so in love, Luhan boldly walked up to the pair and pressed a key into Joonmyeon’s hand. With a mock glare he huffed, “You’re both making me feel sick with all this gooey-eyed looks and sweetness that you’re giving one another. Go to your nest for the night and make sure to make love to him until the dawn light for god sake. Then at least I can get drunk in peace!” 

Before either Joonmyeon or Yifan could splutter words of complaint towards Luhan, the blond haired wolf had slipped away with a smile on his face as he caught his girlfriend in one arm and a bottle of wine in the other and merrily waltzed off towards one of the quieter rooms. 

Joonmyeon chuckled, “Well, it looks like we may be having another ceremony soon.” 

“I hope so,” Yifan replied softly, falling back into the natural slow dance that the pair had been trapped in most of the night. “Is it okay if we keep dancing? I don’t feel like going to bed yet.” 

“Whatever my precious omega wants,” Joonmyeon smiled back towards Yifan, standing ever so slightly on his tiptoes to place a loving kiss to his lips as they continued to sway together back and forth. Whilst part of him knew that the mating ceremony was supposed to be all about the mating and the claiming between the pair, he too felt no need to rush off and do the deed. They had all night and it was just heavenly being able to dance with Yifan like this. Like they had not a single care in the world. 

Tomorrow they would be leaving for their honeymoon, going off to explore Europe and see what wonders that held, and he was sure that they would have plenty of time for private evenings with just the pair of them. But tonight wasn’t really about expressing all of that side of their relationship, it was a time for confirming what they meant to each other, what they would be willing to do for one another and as he looked into those big and beautiful brown eyes that were alight with love and happiness, Joonmyeon could think of no better way to spend his mating ceremony night than to simply dance with his partner and allow all of the years of love and affection to blossom between them as if there was no one else in the world that could ever take them away. 

Joonmyeon knew that he did indeed have his mate’s heart, Yifan shared it with him all too easily and whilst there would still be times of darkness and insecurity ahead, they had one another and that tie would never break. 

Yifan smiled towards his alpha, clearly able to feel all the same emotions that were pumping through his heart and he leaned forward to press his lips against the others. The kiss was slow, tender and filled with every last ounce of love and that was enough for Joonmyeon. They remained on the dance floor for the rest of the night, swaying together, captured only in each other’s attention and feeling as though this was the perfect start to the rest of their lives together.


	12. Epilogue

It was a boiling hot day, with the sun beating down on the old railway tracks as the half slumbering figure of a teenage boy was jostled awake by a sudden bump in the track which was hopefully a stone or just a raised-up point. The figure yawned, stretching out his long arms and legs before blearily rubbing at his eyes with the balls of his fists and glancing out of the window. Immediately a smile crossed his face as he recognized the countryside that they were coming into, knew the little farms and homesteads and felt a thrill go through his entire heart. 

He was home. 

Quickly turning around, the young man with the white ears poked the figure next to him with crafty fingers in order to rouse him from slumber and smiled brightly when a half grumble came his way. “What?” the man half lying down grumbled, not at all happy about being woken up in such a manner. 

The first figure rolled his dark eyes towards the top of the carriage and pouted. 

A heavy sigh came from the older man who pushed himself upright, “I know fine well that you can hear me Tao, so stop playing silly beggars with me and tell me what you want.” 

A chuckle came his way as the boy latched onto his arm, much in the manner of a child but there again that was one of the things that Taehyung loved about his now very tall omega. Even though he was gracing the age of twenty-two with height and a body which could kill if needed, Tao was still a child at heart and loved nothing more than being fussed over and looked after. “We’re nearly home,” Tao replied to his rather flustered mate, “I thought it best to wake you before we go to the station.” 

Taehyung nodded his approval, smiling and rubbing at Tao’s black hair, “You’re just trying to get me ready for the fall out when your brothers realize that you’ve had the implants you mean.” 

A shy little smile came from Tao, knowing fine well that he had been caught but there again it was next to impossible for him to hide anything from Taehyung. The older seemed to instinctively know everything about him, from how he wanted his breakfast, to what clothes he wanted to wear and when he needed to take his medications because sometimes Tao forgot to do so. It was still strange, thinking back to those times in the wushu club when the elder would seem to favour Tao in his training, give little pointers to improve or how to stay healthy and would constantly fret over every last slip, trip and fall but Taehyung had always told him that it had just been his way of expressing his care towards his omega without forcing himself upon Tao. 

They had spent two years apart, when Taehyung had gone off to study in the city and Tao hadn’t really known how much it had affected him until his own first year at university when by chance on a night out with a group of friends he had run into Taehyung. Well correction, Taehyung had actually kicked the living daylights out of guy who was trying to force his attention onto Tao and refused point blank to leave him be after that for fear that something bad would happen. It had taken Tao eighteen months to realize what was actually going on and by the time he did, he was already head over heels for his mate, so things moved along very swiftly from that point. Neither were marked officially as of yet, Taehyung wanted to do things the proper and traditional way so was heading back with Tao over the summer to formally request to mate the younger from both sets of his parents. It was sure to be an interesting time ahead for the pair, but Tao had the feeling that at the very least his Mama knew that was going on, though of course Yifan would never dare to breath a word of it. 

The only thing that no one knew about, was the fact that Tao had upon his return to his final year in university last year, taken up an offer which had seemed to be a bit of a risk as first but was something that he was immensely grateful for now. As part of a research group in the local hospital, Tao had had audio implants set into the base of his ears. These operated in the same way as hearing aids bar the fact that they were unremovable except via surgery and they were a digital frequency which adapted constantly to allow him to hear all matter of sounds. It had been very freaky at first and Tao had initially panicked after years of near silence but after the first month or so he had adapted well and being able to communicate so easily was still a wonderful thrill for him. How he had kept it quiet from everyone was still a mystery, but he had only agreed to tell them once they knew that the implants were working ninety per cent of the time and that there would be no adverse effects to them. 

Taehyung smiled towards Tao, placing a little peck on the end of his nose, “Come on then, my little one, we best get ready for meeting everyone right?” 

~*~

“Kwangmin!” Kyungsoo yelped, grabbing hold of the wandering toddler and pulling him back, “Come here! Where do you think you’re going, mister?” 

A chuckle resounded from behind the short omega, “Is he running from you again Soo?” 

“Yes, your bloody son is causing havoc as per usual,” Kyungsoo said, catching hold of the boy and hoisting him up onto his shoulder, “Why can’t he be more like his brother? Youngmin is just a sweetie pie whilst this one…stop kicking me!”   
Chanyeol chuckled and plucked the boy out of his mother’s arms, “You may want to go after Jungmin before he breaks that vending machine.” 

Wheeling around, Kyungsoo’s eyes widened comically as he went rushing after his eldest son with a cry which spoke about how much trouble the cub was already in. Chanyeol could not help but laugh loudly, because even though he would never dare to mess with the other, it was still somewhat amusing to see his little Soo acting like a devil. He would always complain and say that their boys got their wildness from him, but everyone could take one look at the devil side of Kyungsoo and know exactly where it came from. 

Hyuna’s laugh caught him off guard as she stepped forward to catch hold of her twin grandsons, “I take it the boys are causing their mother troubler again?” 

“Well one of them is,” Chanyeol smiled brightly, ruffling the twins hair, “There again Soo’s been getting cranky lately and keeps wanting me to go out on midnight raids for chocolate, so heaven knows what’s up with him now.” 

Hyuna stared at her very large son-in-law with a look of pure disbelief. How after two pregnancies where Soo had been very cranky and demanded chocolate at all times of the night, Chanyeol couldn’t figure it out by now had her bewildered but there was also a smirk playing on the taller man’s lips which meant he already knew. But he had to choose his time right to say something else he was liable to get his head bitten off by the other. Which was something that Kyungsoo could probably do if the mood really took him. 

Luhan grinned as he sauntered past, “More cubs on the way? Do you two ever stop to consider anything before Kyungsoo’s heats come on?” 

“We normally don’t get much warning,” Chanyeol shrugged, though he side-eyed the other, “Unlike you and Guan who seem to have your lives planned down to the very second.” 

Luhan grinned back happily, “We’re just enjoying life at the moment. We’ll worry about cubs later.” 

“Don’t leave it too late though,” Hyuna said happily, adjusting the now slumbering twins on her lap as Kyungsoo came back over with his eldest, “Your biological clocks will be ticking.” 

“Yes, Aunty we know,” Guan said with a smile as she latched onto Luhan’s arm, “But we’ve already had this conversation with Mama Yulan and she agrees that we’re best focusing on our careers for now.” 

That caused a huge smile to cross Luhan’s face as pride swelled in his chest. Guan was a fashion model and designer and her craft was getting worldwide recognition at the moment. Luhan had the honor of being her manager and official photographer and the pair fit together perfectly. It was a far cry from the old-fashioned office work that the other had done once upon a time, but it was working out good for the pair of them. 

A huff came from the side, “You promised me a baby brother to play with, Uncle Lu, don’t go spoiling it now.” 

Luhan rolled his eyes, “He’d be your nephew, Jongin, don’t start whining already.” 

Leaning against the post, Jongin had changed from the cheeky boy who used to run around pulling everyone’s hair and generally making havoc whenever he could. He was tall, though not as tall as either of his brothers, and had a strong jaw line and sharp eyes that seemed to glare out at the world at the moment but today there was a certain softness to them as it was clear that he was looking forward to Tao’s return. Jongin had even dressed up especially for the occasion, in loose fitting trousers and a plain white shirt and a brown, rather beaten up leather jacket that looked as though it had been through the works but still managed to look like it belonged on Jongin’s shoulders. 

It was the only thing that Jongin had left of his beloved Taemin, after the alpha had left the country six months ago with his pack with only the half spoken words of a promise that one day he would come back for the omega. No one knew much more than that, only that the bond which had been made between the pair in their youth had been broken in order to protect Jongin. It also meant that the omega had no idea where his mate was and for a while everyone had been terrified that Jongin would give into the despair and fade away into nothing more than a shell. 

Thankfully Yifan had been there, had taken Jongin into his home and cared for his son through the traumatic times and slowly began to bring him around. It wasn’t easy, not in the slightest, especially as there was no contact from Taemin and no amount of searching had yielded any information about the others whereabouts or why his pack had suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night leaving next to no trace of anyone or anything. 

A warm and familiar arm wrapped itself around Jongin as Sehun pulled his elder brother into a hug and just held him there. He didn’t speak many words, but he really didn’t need to do so at the moment because he knew that his brother needed to feel the presence of love rather than have words just merely spoken to him. Sehun had, like Tao, inherited his mother’s height and sharp features and had a naturally resting bitch face which made many people want to turn and run away from him faster than anything. However, Sehun was still very much the soft baby that he had been, and it wasn’t uncommon to find him running around, playing with cubs or else indulging in some little charity event that allowed him to entertain. He still danced and did some rapping on the side, but it was more of a hobby now than anything else. Sehun still hadn’t found his mate, having been a little crushed at fifteen when his long-time crush Donghae had found Eunhyuk which had meant the end to that little affair. But he wasn’t really worried, allowing himself to just float along with the wind and see where it took him. 

He had signed up to help out at a few summer camps and everyone felt that this would be a really good path for the youngster to take. It would lead him into the wild and into what he loved doing the most so everyone was happy.

“Gege!” a voice cried out behind him, causing Sehun to turn and smile brightly towards a little girl with pigtails who was rushing forward dressed in a white t-shirt and a pink pinafore dress with Hello Kitty written on it in white letters and a matching pink sparkly bow on her ear, “You came!” 

“Of course, we did,” Sehun said, scooping up the little girl into his arms to hug her before offering her towards Jongin who gladly took the girl into his own arms to hug her as well, “Tao is our Gege too you know.” 

The little girl, whose name was Sofia, smiled brightly up at her two elder brothers and hugged them both, “I know that! But Baba was worried you’d forget or something.” 

“I was not, stop telling tales Sofia,” Joonmyeon said as he rounded the corner and plucked the little five-year-old out of her elder brother’s arms, “Honestly, the stories you come up with.” 

“But Baba said-” Sofia whined playfully. 

A soft chuckle came from behind, “No fighting or arguing today, Sofia, you promised Mama.” 

The girl pouted towards her Mama but then smiled brightly and reached her arms out towards the omega in question, “Sofia not arguing. She’s stating a truth whilst Baba is lying.” 

Sehun couldn’t help but chuckle at the blush that crossed Joonmyeon’s cheek as he was ratted out by his five-year-old daughter. It was sometimes hard to explain to everyone that he had a little sister who was seventeen years younger than him but Sehun wouldn’t have changed that fact for the world. Neither would Jongin who was pulling funny faces towards the girl whenever Yifan and Joonmyeon weren’t looking to make her laugh and return the gestures. 

Yifan hoisted Sofia up onto his hip a little higher, waving towards the others but not moving across the station just as of yet as they were certainly making the place very full at the moment and he really didn’t want to be causing much more of a ruckus than they already were. Granted no one would complain, everyone said that they were one of the nicest family packs going even if sometimes the lines got a little blurred about who was who’s but that didn’t matter in the slightest. He found himself musing back to the same station, some ten years ago, when he had been waiting for Joonmyeon to return with butterflies in his stomach and thinking that he was going to lose everything. 

He had gained far more than he could have ever imagined, and his heart fluttered happily inside his chest as he felt Joonmyeon wrap his arm around the slender waist before pressing a kiss to his neck. Just above the point where the mating mark was. These days the pair lived happily, Joonmyeon a full-time lawyer whilst Yifan ran his own daycare center. Sofia had started attending school and was thriving merrily, making new friends and beginning to grow into a perfect young lady who would certainly steal a lot of hearts as she grew up. 

They had a house together, which contained three floors of bedrooms for the amount of visitors they received and were currently housing Jongin there but if truth be told, Yifan’s three eldest sons would always have a bed to come back to when they ever needed it. Hyuna also kept their bedroom in her house so there was never any fuss over that issue and form the age of fifteen the cubs had just sorted themselves out to spending their time between living with their Umma Hyuna and their Mama Yifan without causing too many upsets over the years. 

Life sometimes wasn’t always the easiest, of course there were still many different events that were going to affect them, but they managed to bound together and survive which was all that they wanted to do. 

The train pulled up not five minutes later and pretty soon the whole platform was filled with happy yells, hugs and gasps of surprise when they realized that Tao could actually hear them for the first time. Yifan smiled as he hugged his eldest son tightly to his chest, still able to see that tiny black furred pup that had gone tumbling towards the storm drain on that dreaded night oh so long ago but had to marvel at the young man who now stood before him. 

“Welcome home, Zitao,” Yifan smiled gummily towards the boy. 

“Glad to be home, Mama,” Tao replied, eye smiling back towards him before turning to immediately pounce on his two younger brothers and send them tumbling to the floor in a mixture of limbs that made it impossible to tell where one started and the other ended. 

Joonmyeon smiled, lacing his fingers with his omega’s as Sofia decided to go rushing forward to join in on the play fight with her much older brothers and lightly he kissed the back of Yifan’s hand, “We did well with them, didn’t we Yifan?”   
“Indeed, we did,” Yifan smiled back, shyly kissing Joonmyeon before looking around the station one more time and knew in his heart, that he was surrounded by his forever family. They would never leave him, and he would never leave them. This was his world, his place and where his heart belonged and there was nothing more or nothing less that he wanted in the slightest. 

This was his paradise and he would hold onto it forever and never let it go. 

~Fin~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a change to a couple of the paragraphs here due to the new fic I started - why I'm doing this to myself I do not know but here we go regardless - and it particularly concerns Jongin but keep your eyes peeled for the new fic to see what it is. I'll add in the change when I've got it sorted on my side of things.   
> And yes, I'll somehow keep updating the other fics as well. Duno quite how but I'll manage it


End file.
